This L.A. firm hired kids to debone poultry with sharp knives, drive fork lifts, Labor Department says
Summary
Date Reported: 4 Dec 2023
Location: United States of America
Companies
Meza Poultry - Employer , Valtierra Poultry - Employer , Sullon Poultry - Employer , Nollus's Poultry - Employer , The Exclusive Poultry - Employer , ALDI South - Buyer , Grocery Outlet Inc. - Employer , Sysco - Buyer , Kroger - BuyerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Guatemala , Slaughterhouses , Gender not reported )Issues
Child labour , Right to Education , Occupational Health & Safety , Wage Theft , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , IntimidationResponse
Response sought: Yes, by The Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: According to labour investigators, chicken processed by The Exclusive Poultry was sold from the shelves of supermarkets who bought it from distributors who used the companies. Grocery Outlet, Aldi and Sysco all told the LA Times they did not use The Exclusive Poultry as a supplier which was criticised as "fudging it" by Department of Labor attorney Nisha Parekh. Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited retailers Grocery Outlet, Aldi, Sysco and Kroger (which owns brand Ralphs) to respond to allegations of child labour in their supply chains and to disclose any efforts to remedy the abuse as well as due diligence steps undertaken to detect issues in the future. Kroger and Grocery Outlet's responses can be read below; Aldi and Sysco did not respond.
Source type: News outlet
A Southern California poultry processor illegally employed children as young as 14 to debone meat with sharp knives and move pallets with power-driven lifts, the Labor Department said.
The poultry processor, which supplies grocery stores including Ralphs and Aldi, must pay nearly $3.8 million in fines and back wages after an investigation found the company employing children as young as 14 in dangerous jobs, retaliating against workers who cooperated with investigators and refusing to pay overtime wages, the agency said.
The Labor Department alleged that Exclusive Poultry Inc. and other companies owned by Tony Elvis Bran employed children who used sharp knives to debone poultry, operated power-driven lifts to move pallets and worked more hours than are allowed under child labor laws.
The company also allegedly cut the wages of workers who cooperated with investigators and did not pay workers proper overtime, according to the agency...