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meatpacker's cleaners under investigation for child labor law violations [1]

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Date: 2022-11-17

The US Department of Labor has sought a temporary injunction and restraining order in federal court in Nebraska against Packers Sanitation Services Inc. LTD, as it investigates allegations of Child Labor law violations.

The company is reported to have employed at least 31 children ages 13-17 in cleaning meatpacking plants in Nebraska and Minnesota. Children under the age of 14 are barred from legal employment, and those ages 14 to 17 are barred from certain types of employment and may only work restricted hours. In these cases not only has the company allegedly had children working with restricted chemicals and equipment, but has also had them working excessive hours as well as really late hours.

A fourteen year old employee has been spoken of in reports as having not only chemical burns, likely from solutions used in cleaning the kill floor, but to have been falling asleep in his middle school classes after working well past midnight. Multiple children in the investigation have chemical burns or other injuries likely arising from this employment.

The company also appears to be trying to impede the investigation through employee intimidation. Supervisors have had to be ordered from the area the children were being interviewed in. Part of the DOL’s injunction is to bar the company from telling the kids and other employees they shouldn’t talk to the investigators.

The issues being investigated in this round (my opinion is, if there are three there are probably more) are in meatpacking plants owned by JBS and Turkey Valley Farms.

This is not the first go round with the Department of Labor for Packers Sanitation Services. Last year they were fined in excess of a quarter million dollars for assorted violations, many of which were classed as Serious.

So what does the company have to say for it’s self? A representative came right out said that they would never employ children! You know there might be some bad actors out there perpetrating fraud and identity theft, but we would never knowingly employ children.

So...are they going to try to claim that 13 and 14 year old children perpetrated identity theft and fraud that the company was unable to penetrate, at three different locations. So they suited them up and put them to work all unaware. Do they honestly believe that the Department of Labor is full enough of nit wits that they are going to buy that BS? Perhaps they are going to try to run with a notorious slavery ring sending the kids in with fake papers to apply for poorly paying jobs instead? Good grief what are these people at this company?

Why yes, most of these children are Spanish speakers. However did you guess?

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/11/17/2136813/-meatpacker-s-cleaners-under-investigation-for-child-labor-law-violations

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