The U.S. Department of Labor is seeking a nationwide temporary restraining order and injunction against a food safety sanitation company for its labor practices regarding minors.
Packers Sanitation Services Inc., a company that provides cleaning services for more than 700 food processing facilities across the nation, allegedly used child labor in at least three customer facilities, according to DOL's complaint filed in federal court last week. The company employed at least 31 children aged 13 to 17 at the three facilities in Nebraska and Minnesota, according to a Nov. 9 news release.
"Federal laws were established decades ago to prevent employers from profiting by putting children in harm's way," DOL Wage and Hour Regional Administrator Michael Lazzeri said in the release. "Taking advantage of children, exposing them to workplace dangers – and interfering with a federal investigation – demonstrates Packers Sanitation Services Inc.’s flagrant disregard for the law and for the well-being of young workers."
DOL asked a U.S. District Court judge in Nebraska for a nationwide temporary restraining order and injunction to bar the business from illegally hiring various underage workers while the department continues its investigation into the company's labor practices. The company allegedly interfered with an investigation "by intimidating minor workers to stop them from cooperating," and by deleting and manipulating employment files, the news release said.
"The Department of Labor will use every available legal resource to protect workers – regardless of their age – and hold to account those employers who mistakenly believe they can violate the Fair Labor Standards Act, obstruct federal investigations and retaliate against workers who assert their rights," Regional Solicitor of Labor Christine Heri said in the news release.
Children employed by Packers Sanitation Services have been found to be working in hazardous conditions, including a 13-year-old who suffered caustic chemical burns and other injuries during night time shifts cleaning around high-powered equipment, according to the release.
