A sanitation company based in Tennessee, Fayette Janitorial Service LLC, has agreed to a settlement of over half a million dollars following a federal investigation revealing that it unlawfully employed at least two dozen children to clean hazardous meat processing facilities in Iowa and Virginia.
According to the US Department of Labor, Fayette Janitorial Service LLC has entered into a consent judgment, agreeing to pay nearly $650,000 in civil penalties and adhering to a court-ordered mandate to cease the employment of minors. The investigation, which commenced in February, revealed that as of December 12, at least four children were still employed at one Iowa slaughterhouse.
US law prohibits the employment of individuals under the age of 18 in meat processing plants due to the associated hazards. Fayette was accused of employing 15 underage workers at a Perdue Farms plant in Accomac, Virginia, and at least nine at Seaboard Triumph Foods in Sioux City, Iowa. The tasks assigned to these underage workers included sanitizing dangerous equipment in hazardous conditions where animals are slaughtered and processed.
The investigation highlighted a severe injury sustained by a 14-year-old while cleaning equipment at the plant in Virginia. In response, both Perdue Farms and Seaboard Triumph Foods terminated their contracts with Fayette.
As part of the settlement, Fayette will hire a third-party consultant to monitor compliance with child labor laws for a minimum of three years and provide training. Additionally, the company must establish a hotline for reporting concerns regarding child labor abuses.
A spokesperson for Fayette emphasized the company's cooperation with the investigation and reiterated its "zero-tolerance policy for minor labor."
The case underscores a broader issue of child labor violations across the country, including fatalities and injuries. Recent incidents include the fatal accident of a 16-year-old at a poultry plant in Mississippi and the death of another 16-year-old at a sawmill in Wisconsin. Last year, over 100 children were found to be illegally employed by Packers Sanitation Services Inc. (PSSI) across 13 meatpacking plants, resulting in over $1.5 million in civil penalties.
According to the Labor Department, illegal child labor employment in the US has increased by 88% since 2019.
