Three Companies Sued for Illegal Employment of Child Labor in US
TapTechNews Jun 2nd reported that the US Department of Labor sued three companies including Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama Inc. and demanded that all profits related to the illegal employment of child labor of these companies be confiscated.
TapTechNews noticed that this lawsuit stemmed from a government investigation. It was found that a 13-year-old child was working on an assembly line in Luverne, Alabama, working up to 50-60 hours a week, and this child was in charge of operating the machine that made body panels from sheet metal.
Even though Hyundai Motors was also among the defendants, the company didn't seem to be directly involved. The US government said, BestPracticeService Company sent the child to SMARTAlabama Company, which provides parts for Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama Inc.
BestPracticeService Company is a dispatching company that sent this 13-year-old child to work on the assembly line of SMARTAlabama Company, and SMARTAlabama Company produces parts for Hyundai Motors. Nevertheless, the US government accused these three companies jointly employed this child.
The US government accused these companies of intentionally and repeatedly violating the child labor provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act from July 11, 2021 to February 1, 2022. The Department of Labor also accused these companies of violating the inferior goods provision, which targets goods produced in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Jessica Luman, head of the Department of Labor's Wages and Hours Division, said, In the US, a 13-year-old child working on an assembly line is shocking. We will strive to stop illegal child labor wherever it occurs and also ensure that all employers are held accountable for illegal acts.
Department of Labor attorney Seema Nanda agreed, saying, When the company is actually the employer, they cannot avoid the responsibility of child labor violations by blaming suppliers or human resource companies. This statement implicitly points to Hyundai Motors' stance.
The lawsuit file reveals more details: This 13-year-old girl should have been in middle school, but she was working on the assembly line. The parts she made were shipped to Montgomery, Alabama, and then installed in the cars that were ultimately sold all over the country.
The complaint alleges that the girl's employment violated 29 C.F.R. § 570.33(a), which prohibits the employment of children under the age of 16 in manufacturing jobs; also violated 29 C.F.R. § 570.59, which prohibits children under the age of 18 from operating metal forming, stamping, and shearing machines; also violated 29 C.F.R. § 570.119, which prohibits the employment of minors under the age of 14 under any circumstances.
The US government also accused BestPracticeService Company of knowing or should have known that the employee was a minor. In addition, after the incident was exposed, SMARTAlabama Company told BestPracticeService Company that two other employees were prohibited from returning to the factory due to appearance and other physical characteristics - indicating that they were also minors.
The US government said, All employees of the Luverne plant, including those employed by BestPracticeService Company, are economically dependent on SMART Company. Therefore, SMART Company jointly hired minor employees with the best human service company.
It is worth noting that Hyundai Motors America then held a 72.45% stake in SMARTAlabama Company's parent company. In addition to holding a majority stake, the US government also accused this automaker of having significant control over the overall operations of SMART Company.< /p>
Although this is just a brief overview, the situation is clearly not optimistic for the companies involved.