A meat processing plant and staffing agency have been fined nearly $400,000 for violations of child labor laws.
The court’s decision requires A&J Meats and The Right Hire staffing agency to relinquish $327,484 in profits from unlawful activities.
The companies must pay an additional $62,516 in penalties.
It follows a US Department of Labor investigation into child labor violations.
The investigation found that children as young as 15 were employed at A&J Meats in the City of Industry.
They were tasked with using sharp knives and working in freezers and coolers.
These are tasks explicitly prohibited under federal child labor laws.
These minors were also scheduled to work hours exceeding legal limits.
This included working for more than three hours on school days, past 7pm.
They also worked over 18 hours a week during the school year.
“These employers egregiously violated federal law and now, both have learned about the serious consequences for those who so callously expose children to harm”
Marc Pilotin, the Western Regional Solicitor of the Department of Labor, said the meat processor and staffing agency “knowingly endangered these children’s safety and put their companies’ profits before the well-being of these minors.”
He said: “These employers egregiously violated federal law and now, both have learned about the serious consequences for those who so callously expose children to harm.”
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The ruling is from the US District Court for the Central District of California.
It states both A&J Meats and The Right Hire are prohibited from engaging in trade related to oppressive child labor.
The settlement includes provisions for Priscilla Helen Castillo, the owner of A&J Meats, and the involved companies to conduct annual federal labor law training for employees for at least four years and to agree to monitoring by an independent third party for three years.
Yesenia Dominguez, owner of The Right Hire in Downey, contested the allegations.
She stressed her agency did not employ minors and that her business operations were compliant with legal standards.
She said: “Those allegations aren’t true. We do business by the book.”
A&J Meats has not yet responded to requests for comments on the matter.
