The United States Department of Labor has reached an agreement with a food company after two children were discovered operating meat-processing equipment, in violation of federal law.
The agreement, announced on Friday, is the latest in the department’s crackdown on child labour violations, which have surged in recent years, as several states move to loosen workplace protections for youths.
“The Department of Labor and the Biden-Harris administration see child labour as a scourge in this country and will not tolerate violations of child labour laws,” Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda said in Friday’s press release, underscoring President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’s stance on the issue.
The company in question, Monogram Meat Snacks, will be fined $30,276 in civil money penalties for employing “at least two 16- and 17-year-old children” at its plant in Chandler, Minnesota.
The legislature in Minnesota is among the estimated 14 state governments that have considered relaxing child labour laws over the past two years, with some like Iowa and Arkansas successfully passing measures.
The Iowa law — which came into effect on July 1 — creates exceptions for teenagers of a certain age to work in potentially dangerous situations, like manufacturing or meat coolers. It also allows them to serve alcohol with their parents’ permission, something forbidden to drink under the age of 21 in the country.
Original from www.aljazeera.com