The Tennessee-based sanitation company, Fayette Janitorial Service L.L.C., has been fined over $649,000 for illegally employing at least two dozen children at slaughterhouses and meatpacking facilities in Iowa and Virginia. These children, some as young as 13, were hired for overnight shifts involving the use of corrosive materials to clean hazardous kill floor equipment. Despite a temporary restraining order prohibiting the company from employing underage workers, they continued to do so until it agreed to pay the fine, hire a third party for future monitoring, and establish a violation reporting program. The Fair Labor Standards Act prohibits hiring anyone under 18 for hazardous work in meat and poultry operations, but migrant children from Mexico and Central America often work such dangerous jobs in places like meatpacking plants.
The Department of Labor is committed to preventing the exploitation and endangerment of children in the workforce, particularly in hazardous jobs that put their safety at risk for profit. Despite federal child labor laws, thousands of children were found to have been employed in violation of these regulations over the past financial year. Fayette stated that it had cooperated fully with the Labor Department throughout the investigation and had taken immediate action to address the use of fraudulent identification documents that allowed underage individuals to work at their facilities. CEO Matthew R. Armour emphasized the company’s efforts to maintain a compliant workforce following the investigation.
The investigation into Fayette’s illegal employment of migrant children followed an article in The New York Times Magazine reporting on one such case where a 13-year-old boy, Marcos Cux, was severely injured at a Perdue Farms facility in Accomac, VA. Marcos had been hired by Fayette shortly after arriving in Virginia from Guatemala and suffered a severe arm injury while working on the cleaning shift. Fayette covered his medical bills, which included three surgeries and six months of physical therapy. Perdue Farms terminated their contract with Fayette in response to the incident and has since made improvements to their screening and monitoring process for third-party contractors to prevent similar violations in the future.
In February, a complaint filed by the Labor Department detailed the circumstances of Marcos Cux’s injury, including the handling of the emergency call reporting the incident. The caller from the Perdue facility’s sanitation office initially hesitated when asked about the worker’s age before providing false information. This incident highlighted the dangers and vulnerabilities faced by underage workers in hazardous industries, where safety regulations may be compromised for the sake of profit. The Labor Department’s efforts to enforce child labor laws and hold companies accountable for violations aim to protect children from exploitation and ensure their safety in the workplace.
The fines and penalties imposed on Fayette Janitorial Service L.L.C. serve as a warning to other companies engaging in illegal employment practices, especially those involving underage workers in hazardous conditions. The importance of compliance with labor laws and regulations, particularly when it comes to protecting vulnerable populations like migrant children, cannot be overstated. By holding companies accountable and implementing stricter monitoring and reporting mechanisms, the Labor Department aims to prevent similar incidents and safeguard the well-being of young workers in the future. The case of Marcos Cux and the actions taken by the Labor Department and Perdue Farms underscore the need for vigilance and accountability in ensuring safe and fair labor practices for all workers, especially children.
