The U.S. Labor Department has introduced new measures to crack down on child labor. The measures follow an increase in children found working at U.S. companies last year.
According to the Labor Department, more than 3,800 children were found to be illegally employed at more than 800 companies. Within a five year span, the number of children working in violation of U.S.labor laws has increased 69%. There are currently more than 600 active investigations into child labor across the U.S.
Earlier this month, the Labor Department found 102 children as young as 13 working in what the department described as hazardous overnight jobs cleaning slaughterhouses in eight states. They worked for one of the largest food sanitation companies in the country, Packers Sanitation Services. According to Homeland Security, the children were largely unaccompanied minor children from Guatemala.
Hearthside Food Solutions is at the center of another child labor investigation. According to the New York Times, migrant children as young as 13 were working in factories that make products for well-known brands like Cheetos, Fruit of the Loom and Nature Valley granola bars. The companies involved stand by their zero-tolerance policies against employing anyone underage.
The U.S. Labor Department is enhancing ways to track minors who enter the country alone, along with creating a new task force. It is also asking Congress to increase the maximum penalty for child labor violations, which is currently $15,000. The Labor Department said that’s not high enough to be a deterrent for major profitable companies.
