The United States Department of Labor (DOL) revealed that a janitorial company has been fined $649,000 following an investigation which revealed that it had hired minors for hazardous jobs cleaning slaughterhouses, CNN reports.
According to the DOL investigation, Fayette Janitorial Service was discovered to have employed at least 24 children; including some as young as 13. The minors had been working overnight shifts at two separate slaughter facilities, the DOL said.
Federal labour law in the US reportedly bans children from certain jobs in slaughtering and meat packaging plants - including using or cleaning machinery - due to the dangerous conditions.
The DOL stated that Fayette must hire a third party to prevent instances of child labour and set up a way to report concerns that children are being employed, in addition to paying the fine.
In a statement sent to CNN, Fayette said, “The realization that the use of fraudulent identification documents had allowed individuals under the age of 18 to circumvent our policies and procedures required immediate action.” It added that “substantial investments in proprietary systems and technologies has closed the gap that allowed this situation to arise.”
Fayette reportedly said that it has cooperated with the DOL, and that “our goal remains to ensure a safe and compliant work environment for all of our employees.”
The remedies follow a federal court issuing a temporary injunction against the company in response to a DOL request in February.
In recent years, instances of illegal child labour have been on the rise and other contractors have been fined for employing minors. According to a DOL investigation, in 2023 Packers Sanitation Services paid $1.5 million in civil penalties for employing minors in hazardous occupations and allowing them to work overnight shifts.
Source: CNN
(Links and quotes via original reporting)
The United States Department of Labor (DOL) revealed that a janitorial company has been fined $649,000 following an investigation which revealed that it had hired minors for hazardous jobs cleaning slaughterhouses, CNN reports.
According to the DOL investigation, Fayette Janitorial Service was discovered to have employed at least 24 children; including some as young as 13. The minors had been working overnight shifts at two separate slaughter facilities, the DOL said.
Federal labour law in the US reportedly bans children from certain jobs in slaughtering and meat packaging plants - including using or cleaning machinery - due to the dangerous conditions.
The DOL stated that Fayette must hire a third party to prevent instances of child labour and set up a way to report concerns that children are being employed, in addition to paying the fine.
In a statement sent to CNN, Fayette said, “The realization that the use of fraudulent identification documents had allowed individuals under the age of 18 to circumvent our policies and procedures required immediate action.” It added that “substantial investments in proprietary systems and technologies has closed the gap that allowed this situation to arise.”
Fayette reportedly said that it has cooperated with the DOL, and that “our goal remains to ensure a safe and compliant work environment for all of our employees.”
The remedies follow a federal court issuing a temporary injunction against the company in response to a DOL request in February.
In recent years, instances of illegal child labour have been on the rise and other contractors have been fined for employing minors. According to a DOL investigation, in 2023 Packers Sanitation Services paid $1.5 million in civil penalties for employing minors in hazardous occupations and allowing them to work overnight shifts.
Source: CNN
(Links and quotes via original reporting)