Labor Dept. alleges 'oppressive child labor' practices by meatpacking company

Nov. 12 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Labor is seeking a temporary restraining order and injunction to stop a meatpacking company from illegally employing dozens of minors while it's under investigation.

The government asked the U.S. District Court for Nebraska in Lincoln to issue the order against Packers Sanitation Services Inc. Ltd. -- one of the nation's leading providers of food safety sanitation -- on Friday.

"The complaint was prompted by an investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Division that discovered PSSI had employed at least 31 children -- from 13 to 17 years of age -- in hazardous occupations," department officials said in a statement.

Investigators said they discovered minor workers were performing dangerous jobs including "cleaning dangerous powered equipment during overnight shifts to fulfill sanitation contracts at JBS USA plants in Grand Island, Nebraska, and Worthington, Minnesota, and at Turkey Valley Farms in Marshall, Minnesota."

Investigators found that several minor employees, including a 13-year-old, had suffered caustic chemical burns.

It is illegal under federal law for minor employees to work past 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day and past 7 p.m., for the remainder of the year, officials noted. Additionally, the law prohibits them from operating motor vehicles, forklifts and other hazardous equipment.

"Federal laws were established decades ago to prevent employers from profiting by putting children in harm's way," Wage and Hour Regional Administrator Michael Lazzeri said.

In addition to violating of labor laws, the filling alleges the company interfered with an investigation "by intimidating minor workers to stop them from cooperating with investigators. PSSI also allegedly deleted and manipulated employment files."

"Taking advantage of children, exposing them to workplace dangers -- and interfering with a federal investigation -- demonstrates Packers Sanitation Services Inc.'s flagrant disregard for the law and for the well-being of young workers," Lazzeri added.