Packers Sanitation Services, one of the largest food safety companies in the United States, illegally hired more than 30 children at three meatpacking plants, several of whom suffered chemical burns.
According to a investigation of the Department of Labor, the minors worked night shifts and used corrosive substances to clean , for which a District court in Nebraska issued an order to stop the company from “employing oppressive child labor.”
Packers, a cleaning and sanitation company based in Kieler, Wisconsin, offers contract labor at hundreds of slaughterhouses and meat packing plants throughout the country.
According to the document obtained by the newspaper
The New York Times , the company employed minors aged included between 14 and 14 years, at three slaughterhouses and meatpacking plants: a Turkey Valley Farms plant in Marshall, Minnesota, and two JBS plants in Grand Island, Nebraska, and Worthington, Minnesota.
Their jobs included cleaning slaughter floors , saws for cutting meat and bones, grinding machines and electric knives, according to court documents. The investigation found that most of the children were not fluent in English.
Several minors employed by the company, including one of 14 years, suffered caustic chemical burns and other injuries . Another minor of 14 years, who worked for 02 pm to 5 am for about six days a week, sustained chemical burn injuries from cleaning machines used to cut meat.
The Department of Labor began investigating Packers in August when it received a referral from a law enforcement agency that the company was assigning hazardous work to minors.
Following investigations, the Department of Labor concluded that Packers may still be employing minor children under similar conditions at other plants.
In response, the Packers company said in a statement that “it has an absolute prohibition against the employment of any person under the age of 30 years and zero tolerance for any violation of that policy.”
For its part, Turkey Valley Farms said it was taking the accusations “very seriously” and that it was “reviewing the matter internally”.
Child labor regulations prohibit minors under 13 years old to work and prohibit those of 14 and 15 years work later than 9 pm during the summer and after 7 pm during the school year.
They are also prohibited from working more than three hours on school days, more than eight hours on non-school days, and more than 17 Hours per week. Minors may not operate motor vehicles, forklifts or other dangerous equipment .
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