JBS USA Food Co. is settling for a sum of $4M payable to individuals and communities impacted by child labor practices in the U.S.
On January 13, the processing giant reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor that also requires JBS to hold its service providers, supply chain, and third-party contractors accountable for child labor, too.
Nothing new: We’ve been talking about this since the initial investigation by the DOL in 2022, when 102 children between the ages of 13 and 17 were illegally employed by Packers Sanitation Services Inc. (PSSI). PSSI was a cleaning services contractor for JBS and other meat processors.
Dangerous work: The children cleaned back saws, brisket saws, and head splitters, earning the label of a “hazardous occupation.” More than half of the identified children worked in Greeley, Colorado; Worthington, Minnesota; and Grand Island, Nebraska—all in JBS plants.
Also on the hook: PSSI already paid $1.5M in civil penalties.
You’re fired! Upon conclusion of the investigation with Packers, JBS cut ties with Packers and began its own sanitation operation.
Soundbite: This “helps to ensure best-in-class processes and services for the cleaning of our facilities that meet our high standards from a safety, hiring, and compliance standpoint.” — Nikki Richardson, JBS spokesperson