THE BUZZ!
U.S. company fined $650,000 for illegally hiring children to clean meat processing plants
Cleaning most of the time is something you have to make kids do. And this company is paying big bucks for exactly that.
A cleaning company is in hot water for hiring kids to clean dangerous meat processing plants.
Yup, you read that right. Fayette Janitorial Service, a company from Tennessee, is coughing up a whopping $650,000 in fines for their hiring practices. Investigators say they found at least two dozen children, some as young as 14, scrubbing down gruesome slaughterhouses in Iowa and Virginia.
The feds say these kids were cleaning dangerous equipment with sharp blades and stuff, putting them at serious risk. One teen was even reported to be injured while cleaning!
Thankfully, the kids are no longer on the job, and the company has promised to never hire minors again. They’re also getting a babysitter, sort of. A special consultant will be watching them for the next few years to make sure they keep their promise. Phew!
This story isn’t the only one, though. The Labor Department’s latest statistics indicate the number of children being employed illegally in the U.S. has increased by 88% since 2019.
Source: NBC
