Fayette Janitorial Service agrees to pay $649K in penalties, hire outside consultant to prevent child labor employment in sanitation contracts

SIOUX CITY, IA

The Department of Labor has entered into a consent order and judgment, approved by a federal court in Iowa on May 6, 2024, with a Tennessee cleaning contractor that requires the employer to pay $649,304 in civil money penalties, hire a third-party to review and implement company policies to prevent the employment of children in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and establish a program for reporting concerns about the illegal employment of children.

Investigation and Violations

The agreement follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found Fayette Janitorial Service LLC headquartered in Somerville — operating as Fayette Industrial — employed at least 24 children, some as young as 13 years old, on overnight sanitation shifts at two separate slaughtering and meat packing facilities, Seaboard Triumph Foods LLC in Sioux City and Perdue Farms in Accomac, Virginia.

On Feb. 27, 2024, the department obtained a preliminary injunction against Fayette Janitorial Service LLC in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa to stop the company’s illegal employment of children at its workplaces in more than 30 states. Fayette agreed to nationwide compliance six days after the department filed its motion for a temporary restraining order. Provisions in the FLSA ban children under age 18 from being employed in hazardous occupations common in meat and poultry slaughtering, processing, rendering and packing operations.

Workplace Conditions

At the Seaboard Triumph facility, federal investigators witnessed children concealing their faces and carrying glittered school backpacks before starting their overnight shift and learned children were assigned on overnight shifts to use corrosive cleaners to clean dangerous kill floor equipment, including head splitters, jaw pullers, bandsaws and neck clippers. They also learned at least one child had suffered severe injuries at the Perdue Farms plant as the child tried to remove debris from dangerous machinery.

Commitment to Ending Child Labor

“The Department of Labor is determined to stop our nation’s children from being exploited and endangered in jobs they should never have been near,” said Regional Solicitor Christine Heri. “Children in hazardous occupations drove the Fair Labor Standards Act’s passage in 1938. Yet in 2024, we still find U.S. companies employing children in risky jobs, jeopardizing their safety for profit. We are committed to using all strategies to stop and prevent unlawful child labor and holding all employers legally responsible for their actions.”

Consent Order and Judgment

In addition to the payment of penalties for the child labor violations, the consent order and judgment requires Fayette Industrial to do the following:

• Hire a third-party consultant or compliance specialist with knowledge and experience in complying with the FLSA’s child labor provisions within 90 days.
• Direct the compliance monitor to review company policies immediately, provide training at all facilities the company operates and monitor and audit Fayette’s compliance for at least 3 years.
• Maintain accurate records of all employees, including date of birth and work tasks assigned.
• Impose disciplinary sanctions, including termination and/or suspension, on any management personnel responsible for child labor violations after the date of the consent judgement.
• Establish a toll-free hotline number for people to seek guidance and/or to report child labor compliance concerns anonymously.

“Every employer has a legal and moral obligation to make certain they are not employing children in dangerous jobs,” explained Wage and Hour Midwest Regional Administrator Michael Lazzeri. “With this agreement, we are ensuring Fayette Janitorial Service takes immediate and significant steps to ensure they never put children in harm’s way again.”

During the last fiscal year, department investigators found more than 5,800 children had been employed in violation of federal child labor laws.

Workers and employers can call the division confidentially with questions and the division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including child labor regulations on dangerous jobs that are prohibited for workers under age 18.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the agency, contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

U.S Department of Labor v. Fayette Janitorial Service LLC d/b/a Fayette Industrial

Civil Action: 5:24-cv-4012

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

   • Target 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor.
   • Indicator 8.7.1: Proportion and number of children aged 5-17 years engaged in child labor, by sex and age group (relevant for the worst forms of child labor)

2. SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

   • Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against and torture of children.
   • Indicator 16.2.3: Proportion of young women and men aged 18-29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18

Analysis

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The SDGs addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article are SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth and SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the article’s content, the specific targets under SDG 8 are Target 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor. The specific target under SDG 16 is Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against and torture of children.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

The article mentions an indicator that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets. Indicator 8.7.1: Proportion and number of children aged 5-17 years engaged in child labor, by sex and age group (relevant for the worst forms of child labor) can be used to measure progress towards Target 8.7. This indicator is relevant to the issue of child labor violations mentioned in the article.

4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators” to present the findings from analyzing the article. In this table, list the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), their corresponding targets, and the specific indicators identified in the article.

Copyright: Dive into this article, curated with care by SDG Investors Inc. Our advanced AI technology searches through vast amounts of data to spotlight how we are all moving forward with the Sustainable Development Goals. While we own the rights to this content, we invite you to share it to help spread knowledge and spark action on the SDGs.

Fuente: dol.gov

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