Poultry Possessor Fined for Breaking Child Labor Laws
Under-aged workers were found working with equipment not permitted for use by minors.
Violating child labor laws comes at a price, as one poultry company learned this week. House of Raeford Farms is facing more than $12,000 in fines from the Department of Labor after violating child labor laws.
Two underage workers, 16 and 17, were discovered by investigators using an electric knife in the facility’s deboning department. Workers under the age of 18 are not permitted by law to use electric equipment to clean or slice meat.
Investigators from the wage and hour division of the Department of Labor slapped the company, which has operations in North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana with $12,400 in fines.
“Employers who hire young workers must comply with all federal and state regulations intended to keep our youth safe on the job,” stated Richard Blaylock, director of the division’s Raleigh district office, in a release. “This situation is particularly disappointing because the company previously was cited for the same type of violation.”