The Meat Institute tackles child labor

The Washington DC-based Meat Institute, formerly the ‘North American Meat Institute’, has decided to do something about child labor.

“Meat Institute members universally agree that meat and poultry production facilities are no place for children,” said Julie Anna Potts, president and CEO of the Meat Institute.

Potts said the Meat Institute has shared its recently released best practices with both the Department of Labor and the Department of Agriculture.

“We know that existing government programs are not sufficient to solve this problem, and we stand ready to work with the federal government to develop effective programs and, where appropriate, penalties to ensure underage workers do not participate make up our workforce,” she said.

According to the Meat Institute, hundreds of thousands of migrants enter the country illegally every month, including more unaccompanied minors than ever before.

Child labor is hired both consciously and unconsciously in the United States, and many meat and poultry companies are involved. The jobs in the meat industry are often jobs in food safety and cleaning hazardous equipment.

The Meat Institute’s best practices are designed to help prevent child labor given the record influx of undocumented minors associated with the increasing prevalence and sophistication of identity theft and fraud.

The Meat Institute says it has been working to train member companies to improve age and identity verification. The programming involves third-party experts and consultants to educate member companies on false identification, human trafficking, lessons learned from companies accused of violating child labor laws, new programs and technology to detect identity fraud, and more.

At the heart of the Meat Institute’s campaign against child labor is a seven-page “best practices” document on “Age Verification.”

“Children have no place in meat or poultry packaging or processing facilities,” the document’s statement of principles said. “Meat Institute member companies categorically prohibit hiring anyone under the age of 18 to work in their production facilities. The prohibition on hiring child labor extends to the use of subcontractors.”

According to the Meat Institute, a commitment from the business community to prevent illegal child labor is a crucial first step. This should include a supplier code of conduct for external contractors.

Companies must participate in voluntary government programs such as the E-verify program for new hires.

Managers and supervisors should be encouraged to report suspected child labor immediately.

Meanwhile, a federal court in Los Angeles has intervened in one of the largest wage violation settlements ever reached for U.S. poultry workers a consent judgment ordering Fu Qian Chen Lu and Bruce Shu Hua Lokand others as owners and operators of a network of California poultry processors and distributors to pay $4.8 million in back wages and damages to 476 employees and $221,919 in fines following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

The settlement also requires the employers to give up $1 million in profits earned from selling goods tainted by oppressive child labor and pay fines of $171,919 for their child labor violations. The verdict follows granting a temporary restraining order prohibiting the shipment of hot goods in the trade and required the employer to pay out all profits associated with such shipment.

Lu and its affiliated companies supply poultry products to distributors who sell chicken products to Diamond Green Diesel, Diamond Pet Foods, Foster Farms, Mars Pet Care, Perfection Pet Foods and Superior Food, among others, as well as to several hotels and casinos in Nevada including Caesar’s Palace, The Mirage Hotel and Casino and The Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas; and the Casablanca Casino and Virgin River Hotel and Casino in Mesquite.

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