Smithfield Fined $2M for Child Labor

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp. will pay a $2 million penalty as part of a settlement with the state of Minnesota over allegations that the company employed minors at late hours doing hazardous jobs at its plant in St. James, Minnesota.

The company continues to maintain that it did not knowingly use child labor at the plant.

Minnesota's Department of Labor and Industry's (DLI) investigation covered a two-year audit period -- April 13, 2021, through April 13, 2023. The state found Smithfield employed at least 11 minor children between the ages of 14 and 17 during that time, three of whom began working for the company when they were 14 years old.

Among other child labor violations, DLI said it found Smithfield employed nine of the 11 minor children after the hours allowed by state law -- after 9 p.m. for those under 16 years old and after 11 p.m. before a school day for those 16 or 17 years old.

The state said it found the 11 minor children performed "hazardous" work for Smithfield, including working near chemicals or other hazardous substances; operating power-driven machinery, including meat grinders, slicers and power-driven conveyor belts; and operating nonautomatic elevators, lifts or hoisting machines, including motorized pallet jacks and lift pallet jacks.

"It is unacceptable for a company to employ minor children to perform hazardous work late at night," MDLI Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach said in a statement.

"This illegal behavior impacts children's health, safety and well-being and their ability to focus on their education and their future. DLI's resolution with Smithfield sends a strong message to employers, including in the meat-processing industry, that child labor violations will not be tolerated in Minnesota."

Smithfield said in a statement on Thursday that the company had not "admitted liability" as part of this settlement.

"However, in the interest of preventing the distraction of prolonged litigation, we have agreed to settle this matter," the company said.

"We wholeheartedly agree that individuals under the age of 18 have no place working in meatpacking or processing facilities. As a matter of policy, Smithfield Foods Inc. and its subsidiaries do not employ anyone under the age of 18 to work in any of our processing facilities. Additionally, we require our suppliers, including our third-party sanitation service providers, to follow this policy."

Smithfield said it uses E-Verify to screen potential employees.

Each of the 11 alleged underage individuals passed the E-Verify system by using false identification, the company said.

"Each used a different name to obtain employment with Smithfield than the name by which DLI identified them to Smithfield," the company said.

"Unfortunately, E-Verify does not prevent incidences of identity theft or document fraud or detect all such incidences when they occur."

In fall 2023, the state of Minnesota entered into a consent order with another meat processing company to address and resolve the company's violations of Minnesota child labor law, according to the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.

Earlier in 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division penalized a food safety sanitation service provider for employing minor children in hazardous occupations at meat processing facilities in eight states, including Minnesota.

The Minnesota Legislature passed amendments to the Minnesota Child Labor Standards Act in 2024. Among other things, the changes created an anti-retaliation provision in state law and established liquidated damages for minor children employed in hazardous employment in violation of law.

As part of the settlement, Smithfield will be required to conduct industry outreach on child labor compliance and contractually require sanitation contractors and staffing agencies to comply with the law.

Read more on DTN:

"Company Faces Child Labor Violations," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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