Sanitation firm fined $1.5 million for illegally hiring children

A sanitation company in the United States has paid $1.5 million in penalties for hiring over 100 children in "hazardous occupations" and having them work at meat processing facilities, the Department of Labor said Friday.

Officials found that the food sanitation contractor, Packers Sanitation Services, had employed at least 102 children aged between 13 and 17, and had them working overnight shifts at 13 facilities in eight states.

"Children were working with hazardous chemicals and cleaning meat processing equipment including back saws, brisket saws and head splitters," said the Labor Department in a statement.

At least three minors had sustained injuries while working for the company, the statement added.

The facilities are run by major meat-processing companies, including Tyson, JBS Foods and Cargill, according to investigations.

These companies were not fined.

The penalties followed an investigation that started in August 2022.

"The child labor violations in this case were systemic... and clearly indicate a corporate-wide failure," said Labor Department official Jessica Looman.

She told reporters that officials have seen about a 50 percent increase in child labor violations since 2018.

"These children should never have been employed in meat packing plants and this can only happen when employers do not take responsibility to prevent child labor violations from occurring in the first place," she added.

The fines come as some states are looking to ease child labor protections to help companies with a labor crunch find more workers, with bills introduced in Iowa and Minnesota.

© Agence France-Presse