Almost 200 years ago, Charles Dickens laid the groundwork for societal reforms pertaining to child labor and poverty in “Oliver Twist.” While most civilized people would like to think we’ve come a long way, the United State’s Department of Labor (DOL) might beg to differ. From FY2022 to FY 2023, there’s been a huge jump in the number of young workers employed in violation of hazardous occupations.
Fayette Janitorial Service LLC, a Tennessee cleaning contractor based in Somerville, is one of the newest contributors to those figures. The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division found the company employed at least 24 children, some as young as 13 years old, at two different meat packing facilities to provide sanitation and cleaning during overnight shifts. Fayette has entered into a judgment with the Department of Labor to pay $649,304 for violating the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA).
Children exploited to clean hazardous equipment
In February, the DOL obtained a temporary restraining order against Fayette in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa to stop the company from illegally employing children. Fayette agreed to comply with this order at all of its workplaces spanning across more than 30 states. As the investigation continued, federal investigators found several violations. Children were assigned to clean dangerous equipment with corrosive cleaners. At Perdue Farms in Accomac, Virginia, one child suffered severe injuries. The FLSA bans children under age 18 from being employed to provide hazardous duties in meat and poultry processing operations.
Violations of the FSLA can be costly
In addition to monetary relief of almost $650K, the court-approved consent decree and judgment includes provisions requiring Fayette to hire a third-party consultant to comply with the FLSA child labor laws. The company will also be required to review their current policies and update as needed and to provide training at all facilities. Fayette’s compliance will be monitored for at least three years. Management personnel will need to be held accountable, with suspension or termination, for any future violations after the date of the consent judgment.
Child labor violations have seen a 14% increase from FY22 to FY23. Even worse, the increase is 88% since FY2019. Wage and Hour Midwest Regional Administrator Michael Lazzeri said, “Every employer has a legal and moral obligation to make certain they are not employing children in dangerous jobs.”
Dawn Brotherton is a Sr. Staff Writer at The American Genius with an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Central Oklahoma. She is an experienced business writer with over 10 years of experience in SEO and content creation. Since 2017, she has earned $60K+ in grant writing for a local community center, which assists disadvantaged adults in the area.
