An Oklahoma-based cleaning company has been fined nearly $172,000 by the U.S. Department of Labor after investigators found the business employed 11 children to clean meat processing equipment.
In a statement, the agency said a probe discovered that Qvest LLC deployed the children to clean up at a Seaboard Triumph Foods facility in Sioux City, Iowa, between 2019 and 2023.
The department said Qvest directed 11 children to use corrosive cleaning material to disinfect “head splitters, jaw pullers, bandsaws, neck clippers” and other dangerous equipment at the pork plant.
It’s illegal under the Fair Labor Standards Act for anyone under age 18 to work in meat processing.
Along with the child labor fine, Qvest must hire a third party to develop policies to prevent the hiring of children and let whistleblowers report the employment of youngsters.
“The U.S. Department of Labor is determined to end the illegal employment of children in our nation’s workplaces,” Regional Solicitor Christine Heri said in a statement. “We are committed to using all strategies to stop and prevent unlawful child labor and holding all employers legally responsible for their actions. Children should never be hired to perform dangerous and prohibited tasks.”
This is the second time this year that a sanitation contractor affiliated with Seaboard Triumph Foods has been investigated and fined by the Labor Department. In May, the agency fined Fayette Janitorial Service LLC $650,000 after investigators discovered the company employed nine children at the same Sioux City facility.
Seaboard Triumph Foods said the Labor Department hasn’t accused it of any wrongdoing and confirmed that it hasn’t used Qvest’s services for over a year. The company also said it terminated its contract with Fayette after the agency’s investigation.
Still, the department said both investigations point to a pattern of child labor abuse at Seaboard Triumph Foods.
“These findings illustrate Seaboard Triumph Foods’ history of children working illegally in their Sioux City facility since at least September 2019,” Wage and Hour Midwest Regional Administrator Michael Lazzeri said in a statement. “Despite changing sanitation contractors, children continued to work in dangerous occupations at this facility.”
This year, the Labor Department conducted 736 child labor investigations, issuing over $15 million in penalties for violating child labor laws.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.