Packers Sanitation Services Inc. has paid $1.5 million in civil money penalties, following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division.
The DOL found that the company employed at least 102 youths, ranging in age from 13 to 17 in hazardous occupations and working overnight shifts at 13 meat and poultry processing plants in eight states.
The division found that children were working with hazardous chemicals and cleaning meat processing equipment including back saws, brisket saws and head splitters. Investigators learned at least three minors suffered injuries while working for PSSI.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the department assessed PSSI $15,138 for each minor-aged employee who was employed in violation of the law. The amount is the maximum civil money penalty allowed by federal law.
The division began the Packers Sanitation Services Inc. investigation in August 2022, and on Nov. 9, 2022, the Solicitor’s Office filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court of Nebraska based on evidence that the company – which provides cleaning services under contract to some of the nation’s largest meat and poultry producers – had employed at least 31 children, from 13 to 17 years of age, in hazardous occupations to clean dangerous powered equipment during overnight shifts at JBS USA plants in Grand Island, Nebraska, and Worthington, Minnesota, and at Turkey Valley Farms in Marshall, Minnesota. U.S. District Court Judge John M. Gerrard responded by issuing a temporary restraining order on Nov. 10, 2022, forbidding the company and its employees from committing child labor violations.
On Dec. 6, 2022, the U.S. District Court of Nebraska entered a consent order and judgment, in which the employer agreed to comply with the FLSA’s child labor provisions in all of its operations nationwide, and to take significant steps to ensure future compliance with the law, including employing an outside compliance specialist.
On Feb. 16, 2023, PSSI paid $1.5 million in civil money penalties.
The facilities in which minors were found working included:
- George’s Inc.: Batesville, Arkansas
- Tyson Foods: Green Forest, Arkansas, and Goodlettsville, Tennessee
- JBS: Greeley, Colorado; Worthington, Minnesota; and Grand Island, Nebraska
- Maple Leaf Farms: Milford, Indiana
- Cargill: Dodge City, Kansas, and Fiona, Texas
- Turkey Valley Farms: Marshall, Minnesota
- Buckhead Meat of Minnesota: St. Cloud, Minnesota
- Gibbon Packing: Gibbon, Nebraska
- Greater Omaha Packing Col: Omaha, Nebraska
At three of those facilities, PSSI had more than 20 minors working there. Those were the JBS plants in Grand Island and Worthington, and the Cargill plant in Dodge City. All other facilities had six or fewer minors working there.
“The Department of Labor has made it absolutely clear that violations of child labor laws will not be tolerated,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “No child should ever be subject to the conditions found in this investigation. The courts have upheld the department’s rightful authority to execute federal court-approved search warrants and compelled this employer to change their hiring practices to ensure compliance with the law. Let this case be a powerful reminder that all workers in the United States are entitled to the protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act and that an employer who violates wage laws will be held accountable.”
