Investigators found 11 children working ‘dangerous’ night shifts at meat processing plant

A cleaning company was fined $171,000 after federal investigators found 11 children working a “dangerous” night shift at a meat processing plant in Iowa.

The US Department of Labor saidentification in a declaration that found the children working for sanitation company Qvest LLC at the Seaboard Triumph Foods pork factory in Sioux City, Iowa.

The children were employed to “use corrosive cleaners to clean head cutters, jaw extractors, band saws, neck cutters and other equipment at Seaboard Triumph Foods facilities from at least September 2019 through September 2023,” according to the release.

Under US law, it is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to work in meat processing. Qvest must pay the fine and not engage in “oppressive child labor,” according to a court filing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.

Oklahoma-based Qvest did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Seaboard Triumph Foods said in a written statement to NBC News that it was not charged with any crime, did not tolerate the use of underage labor by any supplier and had “no evidence of underage persons accessing the plant.” “. He added that he has not used Qvest’s services for more than a year.

Qvest must also hire an outside firm to review its child employment policies within 90 days and establish a process for whistleblowers to report illegal child employment, including a toll-free hotline.

It’s the second time a contractor has been caught employing children at the same facility: In May, Fayette Janitorial Services LLC agreed to pay nearly $650,000 for using nearly two dozen children at the Sioux City plant and at a Perdue Farms facility in Virginia.

Fayette said in May that it no longer employs minors; Both Seaboard and Perdue Farms terminated their contracts with Fayette following the May investigation.

“These findings illustrate Seaboard Triumph Foods’ history of children working illegally at its Sioux City facility since at least September 2019. Despite changing sanitation contractors, children continued to work in hazardous occupations at these facilities,” he said. Michael Lazzeri, Midwest Regional Wage and Hour Manager. administrator.

The department said that in the 2024 financial year, the Wage and Hour Division found labor violations involving more than 4,000 children, uncovered in 736 investigations and resulting in more than $15 million in fines, an 89% increase over the previous year. previous year.

Paul DeCamp, former head of the Wage and Hour Division and now an attorney for Seaboard Triumph, said in a statement that companies were being “victimized” by fraudulent workers who obtained jobs with falsified documents.

“This situation underscores the problems facing employers across the country: individuals, including minors, obtaining jobs through the use of fraudulent identification documents, which are sophisticated enough to fool even the federal government’s E-Verify system.” , said.

TO NBC News’ Year-Long Investigation of Underage Slaughterhouse Workers He highlighted how children have been hired in slaughterhouses and meat processing facilities. The series included the story of a 16-year-old boy. Duvan Perezwho died after being trapped in machinery after getting the job using the ID of a 32-year-old man.