California Firm to Pay $3.8 Million for Illegally Employing Children in ‘Dangerous Jobs’: DOL

A poultry processor and supplier in Southern California has agreed to pay nearly $3.8 million in penalties and damages after an investigation found that the firm employed minors in “dangerous jobs,” the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced on Monday.
The agency said in a statement a that the company, known as The Exclusive Poultry Inc., hired children as young as 14 to debone poultry with sharp knives and operate power-driven lifts to move pallets.
Officials also found that minors worked “excessive hours” in violation of federal child labor regulations, and employers retaliated against workers who cooperated with DOL investigators by cutting their wages….