(MPR) – A meatpacking company will pay a $2 million penalty after reaching a settlement with the state of Minnesota over alleged child labor violations.
The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry said Thursday that it found Smithfield Foods illegally employed at least 11 teenagers — some as young as 14 — at its plant in St. James between April 2021 and April 2023.
The agency said the penalty is the largest it has recovered in a child labor case.
Smithfield, in a statement issued Thursday, denied knowingly hiring anyone underage, saying the 11 teenagers used false identification to pass an employment eligibility system. The company said it agreed to the settlement to avoid prolonged litigation.
According to the state Department of Labor and Industry, its investigation found that Smithfield employed at least 11 teens between 14 and 17 during the two-year period.
“Among other child labor violations, DLI 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. DLI also found all 11 minor children performed hazardous work,” the agency reported in a news release.
That work allegedly included “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.”
In addition to the financial penalty, the consent order between the state and Smithfield requires the company, among other steps, to:
- Conduct industry outreach related to child labor compliance
- Contractually require child labor compliance with its labor staffing agencies and sanitation contractors
“It is unacceptable for a company to employ minor children to perform hazardous work late at night,” DLI Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach said in a news release. “This illegal behavior impacts children’s health, safety and well-being and their ability to focus on their education and their future.
Blissenbach said the settlement “sends a strong message to employers, including in the meat processing industry, that child labor violations will not be tolerated in Minnesota.”
In its statement, Smithfield said it “contested DLI’s claims and denies that we knowingly hired anyone under the age of 18 to work in our St. James facility. We have 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.”
“We wholeheartedly agree that individuals under the age of 18 have no place working in meatpacking or processing facilities,” the company wrote, saying it also requires its suppliers and sanitation service providers to follow that policy. The company outlined more than a dozen steps it has taken to “enforce our policy prohibiting the employment of minors.”
In September 2023, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry reached a settlement — including $300,000 in penalties — with Mankato-based Tony Downs Food Company over alleged child labor violations at its meat processing facility in Madelia.
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