Labor Department sues Hyundai, Alabama suppliers for alleged child labor violations

May 31 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Labor Friday filed a federal court complaint alleging a Hyundai assembly plant and two Alabama suppliers illegally used oppressive child labor.

Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama LLC, SMART Alabama LLC and Best Practice Service, LLC jointly employed a 13-year-old girl who worked 50-60 hours a week on an assembly line in Luverne, Ala., for up to seven months, the Labor Department said.

"Instead of attending middle school, she worked on an assembly line making parts," the department said. "Those parts were shipped to Montgomery, Ala., where they ended up on vehicles that were ultimately sold to consumers throughout the country."

The department said the girl worked operating machines that formed sheet metal into auto body parts.

Hyundai operates a manufacturing facility in Montgomery, Ala. SMART Alabama LLC manufactures component parts at a facility located in Luverne, Ala., according to the department.

The Labor Department said that Best Practice Service LLC was a staffing agency -- located at in Montgomery -- that supplied labor to SMART Alabama.

Between July 11, 2021, and Feb. 1, 2022, the companies named in the complaint violated the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to the DOL court filing. It asks the court to prevent the three Alabama companies from employing children illegally.

"The Department of Labor's complaint seeks to hold all three employers accountable in the supply chain," said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda in a statement. "Companies cannot escape liability by blaming suppliers or staffing companies for child labor violations when they are in fact also employers themselves."

The legal complaint also seeks "that the court require the three companies to surrender profits related to the use of oppressive child labor."

"Defendants unfairly profited by their use of oppressive child labor. Consumers throughout the United States unknowingly purchased automobiles that were manufactured with oppressive child labor. Defendants profited by these sales, and financial transactions related to the same, and continue to retain those profits today," the court filing said.

Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman said the concept of a 13-year-old working on an assembly line in the United States "shocks the conscience."

"As we work to stop illegal child labor where we find it, we also continue to ensure that all employers are held accountable for violating the law," Looman said.