A Wisconsin-based food sanitation company paid $1.5 million in financial penalties for illegally employing more than 100 children federal investigators say were exposed to dangerous conditions.
At least 102 minors between the ages of 13 and 17 worked for Grant County-based Packers Sanitation Services Inc., or PSSI, one of the country’s biggest food safety sanitation companies, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division.
At a media briefing Friday, Department of Labor officials said the children worked overnight shifts, using hazardous chemicals to clean saws and other high-risk equipment at 13 meat processing facilities in eight states. At least three were injured while working, including a 13-year-old who suffered chemical burns.
The U.S. District Court of Nebraska entered a consent order and judgment on Dec. 6 requiring the company to comply with federal child labor laws. As part of the court order, PSSI paid a $1.5 million fine on Thursday, which amounts to $15,138 for each employee under the age of 18.
Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda said the court order was critical to completing the investigation and preventing the company from continuing to utilize child labor.
"The consent order and judgment required PSSI to terminate the employment of all minors, hire a third party consultant to monitor their compliance and allowed the Wage and Hour Division to finish its investigation within 90 days," she said. "The consent order and judgment also prohibited...
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