Monogram Foods, a US-based meat company, has recently been fined over $30,000 for violating child labor laws at one of its Minnesota plants.
This violation occurred at the subsidiary company Monogram Meat Snacks, which specializes in producing meat snacks, appetizers, sandwiches, and baked goods.
The US Department of Labor initiated an investigation in March at Monogram Meat Snacks in Chandler, Minnesota. The investigation revealed that the company had employed at least two 16- and 17-year-old children to operate meat processing equipment, which is a violation of federal child labor hazardous orders.
Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda emphasized, “The Department of Labor and the Biden-Harris administration view child labor as a scourge in this country and will not tolerate violations of child labor laws.”
Principal Deputy Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman added, “In this case, Monogram should have never allowed two children to operate hazardous equipment. After our initial investigation, Monogram Meat Snacks and its parent company have agreed to implement significant measures to prevent future child labor violations.”
Employers hold legal responsibility for training their management, hiring specialists, and front-line supervisors to recognize potential child labor violations and to take appropriate actions to ensure they are not employing children and other young individuals illegally.
Monogram Foods stated, “Our company does not want, and has a zero-tolerance policy for, ineligible underage labor, and we have fully cooperated with this process. We take our legal obligations and our longstanding commitment to compliance very seriously, and immediately terminated the two ineligible workers who appear to have used falsified documentation relating to their identity or age in the hiring process.”
The company further noted, “We have voluntarily made significant and immediate companywide changes to our existing policies and procedures to prevent this from occurring in the future. Every day, we strive to be a valued partner in our communities and meet our high standards of safety, compliance, trust, and integrity.”
Earlier this year, another meat company was found guilty of being associated with child labor. Brazilian meat giant JBS’s US subsidiary terminated its contracts with Packers Sanitation Services Inc (PSSI) after the cleaning firm faced a $1.5 million fine for employing child labor.
A US Department of Labor investigation revealed that PSSI, the sanitation services provider for JBS USA meat plants, illegally employed over 100 children.
Following the child labor scandal, JBS launched its own cleaning operation in the US, replacing the supplier that had been fined for using child labor.
