Services Provider Pays $1.5M in Penalties for Child Labor Law Violations

Packers Sanitation Services Inc. (PSSI), a large food safety sanitation services provider which was the focus of a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) investigation on child labor, has paid US$1.5 million in penalties.

An investigation by the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division found the company employed at least 102 children, aged 13 to 17, in hazardous occupations and had them working overnight shifts at 13 meat processing facilities 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 (FLSA), 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 child labor violations in this case were systemic and reached across eight states, and clearly indicate a corporate-wide failure by Packers Sanitation Services at all levels,” explained Principal Deputy Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division Jessica Looman. “These children should never have been employed in meat packing plants and this can only happen when employers do not take responsibility to prevent child labor violations from occurring in the first place.”

The investigation began in August 2022, and on November 9, 2022, the division’s Solicitor’s Office filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court of Nebraska based on evidence that the Kieler, Wisconsin-based company—which provides cleaning services under contract to some of the nation’s largest meat and poultry producers—had employed at least 31 children in hazardous occupations at plants in Grand Island, Nebraska, and Worthington, Minnesota, and at Turkey Valley Farms in Marshall, Minnesota.

On December 6, 2022, the U.S. District Court of Nebraska entered a consent order and judgment, in which PSSI 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.

For more on the DOL’s investigation, tune into this recent Straight Talk! video, sponsored by Spartan Chemical Co. Inc.