Children have been found working at a Mar-Jac Poultry slaughterhouse in Alabama, less than a year after a teen worker was killed at a different facility. The US Department of Labor filed a civil complaint alleging the presence of children working on the kill floor, deboning poultry, and cutting carcasses. Mar-Jac operates facilities in three states and did not disclose which fast food establishments it supplied.
The Department of Labor has ongoing investigations of Mar-Jac plants in Alabama and Mississippi. Federal labor law prohibits children from certain jobs in slaughterhouses due to hazardous conditions. In the May complaint, the Labor department stated that Mar-Jac had employed minors in hazardous occupations, making goods produced at the facility “hot goods” under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Mar-Jac issued a statement claiming they have taken steps to comply with child labor regulations. The company said the workers in question had documentation showing they were over 18, despite allegations to the contrary. This comes after the death of a 16-year-old worker at a Mar-Jac facility in Mississippi last year, which prompted an investigation and a proposed fine of over $200,000.
The Labor Department has been cracking down on incidents of child labor, particularly in the meatpacking industry. In a joint effort with Health and Human Services, they have seen a significant increase in illegal employment of children by companies. A janitorial company was fined $649,000 for hiring minors as young as 13 to clean slaughterhouses overnight at two separate facilities.
These incidents of child labor highlight the ongoing challenges of enforcing labor laws in the meat industry. Companies like Mar-Jac Poultry face criticism and fines for violating child labor regulations and putting young workers in dangerous conditions. The Department of Labor’s efforts to combat child labor abuse in the industry are intensifying, with increased investigations and penalties for those found in violation of labor laws.
