Labor Department puts spotlight on child labor in slaughterhouses with 3 settlements this week

abcnews.go.com:

The problem of kids working in dangerous slaughterhouses continues to be a concern as the Labor Department announced its third agreement this week with a company in the industry agreeing to pay a penalty and reform its practices to help ensure it won’t...

OMAHA, Neb. — The problem of kids working in dangerous slaughterhouses continues to be a concern as the Labor Department announced its third agreement this week with a company in the industry agreeing to pay a penalty and reform its practices to help ensure it won't hire underage workers again.

On Thursday, the Department said investigators found that another slaughterhouse cleaning company called QSI had employed 54 children at 13 meatpacking plants in eight states on overnight shifts sanitizing the industrial carving and slicing machines companies use to produce beef and chicken between 2021 and 2024. This is at least the fourth example of one of these cleaning contractors being caught employing kids in the last two-and-a-half years. QSI will pay a $400,000 penalty.

QSI disputes the way the Department describes the problem and points out that investigators weren't able to find any current juvenile workers and didn't require a formal court agreement with ongoing monitoring like they did a couple years ago with the most egregious offender: the PSSI cleaning company that ultimately paid more than $1.5 million and agreed to changes.

Earlier this week, Perdue Farms agreed to pay $4 million after children were found working at one of its chicken processing plants in Virginia. One day earlier, meatpacking giant JBS Foods also agreed to pay $4 million and make changes to try to keep kids from getting jobs at its plants.

All three of these announcements come just days before