The U.S. Department of Labor has determined that Qvest LLC, a sanitation contractor at the Seaboard Triumph Foods facility in Sioux City, Iowa, employed children for hazardous work during night shifts. This discovery marks the second instance of such violations at this plant.

A consent order and judgment were approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa on November 27, 2024. Under this agreement, Qvest LLC is required to pay $171,919 in civil penalties related to child labor violations. Additionally, they must hire a third-party consultant to review and enforce policies preventing child labor law breaches and establish a process for reporting illegal employment practices.

The investigation by the Department's Wage and Hour Division revealed that from September 2019 through September 2023, Qvest employed 11 minors who used corrosive cleaners on dangerous equipment such as head splitters and bandsaws at the Seaboard Triumph Foods plant.

In September 2023, Fayette Janitorial Service LLC took over sanitation duties at the facility. By May 2024, federal investigators found that Fayette had also illegally employed nine children. Some of these minors had previously worked under Qvest.

Federal regulations prohibit employing individuals under 18 in hazardous roles within meat processing operations. "The U.S. Department of Labor is determined to end the illegal employment of children in our nation’s workplaces," stated Regional Solicitor Christine Z. Heri.

Besides paying penalties, Qvest must take several actions: hiring a compliance specialist familiar with child labor laws within 90 days; conducting annual training; monitoring compliance for three years; providing multilingual training materials; maintaining accurate employee records; setting up an anonymous hotline for reporting concerns; ensuring no workers under 18 are employed in prohibited jobs within 60 days; and submitting compliance reports annually for three years.

“These findings illustrate Seaboard Triumph Foods’ history of children working illegally in their Sioux City facility since at least September 2019," said Michael Lazzeri, Wage and Hour Midwest Regional Administrator.

In fiscal year 2024 alone, the division completed 736 investigations into child labor violations affecting over 4,000 minors nationwide and levied more than $15 million in fines against employers—a significant increase from previous years.

For further information about child labor regulations or other inquiries regarding labor laws enforced by the agency, individuals can contact their helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).