A federal court has approved a consent judgment requiring Mar-Jac Poultry AL LLC, an Alabama-based poultry processor, to pay $385,000 in civil money penalties after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found the company violated federal child labor laws.
The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor determined that Mar-Jac Poultry AL LLC employed minors as young as 13 years old and allowed them to perform hazardous work, including operating forklifts, deboning and eviscerating poultry, and working on the kill floor. The investigation also revealed that workers aged 14 and 15 were assigned to jobs prohibited by child labor regulations and worked outside permitted hours, including overnight shifts.
“Mar-Jac Poultry has repeatedly been found to put young workers at risk, resulting in the tragic death of a child at their Mississippi facility in 2023,” said Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Juan Coria in Atlanta. “The U.S. Department of Labor will use all enforcement tools available to protect young workers and hold employers accountable if they repeatedly violate workers’ rights.”
Under the terms of the consent judgment entered on May 21, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Mar-Jac Poultry AL LLC must prevent children from working in any prohibited or hazardous occupations and cannot hire workers under age 14. The company is also required to have new employees meet with shift managers before starting work, ensure hazardous equipment is clearly marked with age restrictions, place signs at facility entrances stating that employees must be at least 18 years old, maintain detailed records for all employees under age 19, hire a third-party compliance specialist for three years to monitor adherence to child labor laws, provide quarterly training for managers on compliance issues, issue annual reports on compliance actions taken, update management training materials regarding Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requirements, impose disciplinary measures against management for violations or retaliation against whistleblowers reporting suspected violations, and allow Wage and Hour Division access to facilities during any shift without a warrant.
The Department of Labor had previously investigated Mar-Jac after a fatal incident involving a 16-year-old worker who was caught in machinery while cleaning it. In its 2023 investigation into that incident, officials found additional violations involving minors working beyond legally allowed hours or performing dangerous tasks. Those findings led to $150,000 in penalties.
“This resolution again affirms the U.S. Department of Labor’s efforts to protect our nation’s youth,” explained Regional Solicitor Tremelle Howard in Atlanta. “We will not tolerate employers such as Mar-Jac Poultry that repeatedly permit our nation’s young workers to perform work that has long been defined as hazardous.”
Mar-Jac Poultry is headquartered in Gainesville, Georgia and operates production facilities in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi serving food service customers domestically and internationally.
The Department of Labor’s YouthRules initiative aims to promote safe work experiences for teenagers by providing information about workplace protections for youth. Resources are available through YouthRules for teens themselves as well as parents and employers; these include guidance documents such as Seven Child Labor Best Practices for Employers designed to help businesses comply with applicable laws.
Employers or workers seeking more information can contact the Wage and Hour Division via its toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), or use its free Timesheet App—available on iPhone and Android—to track hours worked.
