A Tennessee based janitorial service was fined $650,000 after a federal investigation by the Department of Labor (DOL) found they had hired at least two dozen children to clean dangerous meat processing equipment. A Time Magazine article reported the company also agreed to a court ordered mandate to stop hiring minors.

“Hazards in the industry”

Animal slaughter and processing is dangerous work by nature, involving sharp tools to cut up flesh and bone. That’s why U.S. law prohibits companies from employing people younger than 18 to work in meat processing plants. It labels “the hazards in the industry” as too high to allow children to safely participate. Despite that, the investigation alleges Fayette Janitorial Services used 15 underage workers at a Perdue Farms plant and at least nine at Seaboard Triumph Foods.

According to the article:

“The work included sanitizing dangerous equipment like head splitters, jaw pullers, and meat bandsaws in hazardous conditions where animals are killed and rendered.”

The investigation further alleges that one 14-year-old was severely injured while cleaning the drumstick packing line belt. In addition to the $650,000 fine, for the next three years, Fayette also must hire a third-party consultant to monitor compliance with child labor laws and establish a hotline for individuals to report concerns about child labor abuses.

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