Perdue Farms and Tyson Foods may be facing a federal investigation by the Department of Labor after reports of migrant children working under contract to clean the processing plants during overnight shifts surfaced.
The investigation was launched following an expose in New York Times Magazine detailing how 14-year-old Marcos Cruz worked the nightshift in Perdue’s chicken slaughterhouse in Accomack, Virginia.
The article reports that Cruz was sucked into a conveyor belt, damaging his forearm.
Perdue responded to the allegations in a press release on Friday, stating, “The most important thing is ensuring underage labor has no place in business. To that end, we are conducting a comprehensive third-party audit of child labor prevention and protection procedures, including a compliance audit of contractors and identity fraud review.”
“Tyson Foods has not been made aware of any investigation and, therefore, cannot comment,” a company spokesperson told MEAT+POULTRY.
In a report by Reuters, the Labor Department has also opened investigations into Fayette Industrial and QSI which manages cleaning shifts for Perdue and Tyson.
In February, the DOL fined Packer Sanitation Services $1.5 million after at least 102 workers were found working in packing plants ranging from 13 to 17 years old.
Marksbury Farm Foods, LLC was also fined in February by the DOL.
In response, the Biden-Harris Administration sent a letter to the meat and poultry industry urging them to examine their supply chains for child labor infractions. In the letter, USDA’s Secretary Vilsack asked meat and poultry companies to take precautionary steps and to include “strong” language in contracts prohibiting child labor.
The letter was sent to 18 companies including Tyson Foods, Smithfield Foods, JBS USA, and Perdue Farms. In total, these companies account for an estimated 70 percent of meat and poultry production by volume in the United States.
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