JBS USA Agrees to $4 Million Settlement on Child Labor Violations
JBS USA agreed to a $4 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor to address child labor violations, including those that had underage workers performing hazardous tasks.
- By Robert Yaniz Jr.
- Jan 14, 2025
On Jan. 13, 2025, meatpacking processor JBS USA agreed to a $4 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to address violations of child labor laws. The settlement includes measures to assist those affected by unlawful child labor practices and to strengthen compliance across the company’s operations and supply chain.
According to a recent release, the agreement holds JBS and its third-party contractors accountable for preventing illegal child labor.
“Under this agreement, JBS USA Food Co. has adopted creative and forward-thinking compliance measures to combat illegal child labor,” Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman said in a statement. “JBS has taken responsibility for children performing dangerous work at its facilities by proposing concrete and enforceable solutions to address those issues, setting the standard as a market leader in preventing illegal youth employment.”
The $4 million fund will support victims of child labor and community-based initiatives, particularly in Guntersville, Alabama; Greeley, Colorado; Ottumwa, Iowa; Worthington, Minnesota; and Grand Island, Nebraska. Aid may include scholarships, stipends, educational support, and funding for job training, literacy programs, and English as a Second Language teaching positions.
“Host companies like JBS have enormous leverage to help prevent child labor in their supply chains and even more broadly in the industry,” Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda said in a statement. “With this agreement, JBS USA Food Co. is taking significant steps to ensure children are not put in harm’s way at its facilities or by its contractors.”
Key compliance measures outlined in the agreement include hiring a child labor compliance specialist, conducting unannounced audits, maintaining a toll-free ethics hotline, and incorporating a zero-tolerance policy in contracts with third-party sanitation firms. JBS will also host a symposium on preventing illegal child labor and conduct targeted advertising campaigns in affected states.
This settlement follows Department of Labor investigations that uncovered child labor violations by JBS’s third-party contractors in multiple states. Investigators found children working in hazardous conditions, including overnight shifts. In fiscal year 2024 alone, more than 4,000 children were found to be employed in violation of federal labor laws.
About the Author
Robert Yaniz Jr. is the Content Editor of Occupational Health & Safety.