Packers Sanitation Services Inc. (PSSI) violated child labor laws by employing at least 102 minors in dangerous conditions at 13 meat-processing facilities in eight states, according to a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) investigation.
PSSI is a Kieler, Wis.-based sanitation company with 17,000 employees across 500 locations. It had contracts for sanitation services at about 450 meat-processing plants across the country when the DOL investigated 55 of those plants, the DOL said.
As a result of the investigation, the company recently paid $1.5 million in penalties for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The children worked overnight using caustic chemicals to clean back saws, brisket saws, head splitters and other equipment. At least three children were injured in the course of their work, the DOL reported.
The overnight shifts occurred at JBS Foods plants in Grand Island, Neb., and Worthington, Minn., and at Turkey Valley Farms in Marshall, Minn. Twenty-seven minors were employed at a JBS Foods plant in Grand Island, Neb.; 26 minors were employed at a Cargill Inc. plant in Dodge City, Kan.; and 22 minors were employed at a JBS Foods plant in Worthington, Minn. Similar violations also occurred in Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Tennessee and Texas, the DOL reported.
"This is no clerical error or actions of rogue individuals or bad managers," DOL Principal Deputy Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman said. "PSSI's systems flagged that these children were too...
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