Marksbury Farm Foods LLC worked minor-aged employees in its slaughterhouse operations
LANCASTER, KY – A Lancaster meat processing plant allowed eight minor-aged employees to work outside of federally allowed hours and engage in hazardous work, a federal investigation has found.
U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found Marksbury Farm Foods LLC – a retail and wholesale processor of beef and pork products – employed seven workers in slaughterhouse operations and an eighth worker to clean its floor, in violation of federal child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which forbids workers under 18 from doing most jobs in meat and poultry slaughtering, processing and packing establishments. Two of the minors, investigators learned, were under age 16.
In addition, the division determined the employer allowed a 15-year-old employee to work past 7 p.m. on dates not between June 1 and Labor Day, more than eight hours on a non-school day, more than 18 hours during a school week, and before 7 a.m. on a school day, all FLSA child labor hours and time violations.
The division assessed Marksbury Farm Foods an $8,893 civil money penalty to address the child labor violations.
“Federal labor laws protect children from being put at risk in truly dangerous work conditions. They exist to make sure the work young people do does not jeopardize their health or well-being or interfere with their educational opportunities,” said Wage and Hour Division District...
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