SIOUX CITY, IOWA – The Department of Labor asked for a temporary restraining order and injunction against a sanitation company accused of hiring minors to provide sanitation services at two meat processing plants.

The agency’s investigation found that Fayette Janitorial Service LLC employed minors to clean and sanitize spaces and equipment during overnight shifts to complete contracts with Perdue Farms at its Accomac, Va. plant and Seaboard Triumph Foods LLC in Sioux City, Iowa.

In its complaint, filed to the US District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, investigators alleged that Fayette employed 15 minors in Virginia and at least nine minors in Iowa to work the overnight shifts.

“The employment of children in hazardous occupations is an egregious violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act that should never occur,” said Seema Nanda, DOL’s solicitor of labor. “The Department of Labor continues to use every available legal resource to protect workers and end child labor violations. We are working diligently with other federal agencies to combat child labor exploitation nationwide.”

DOL added that the minors were used to clean kill floor equipment such as head splitters, jaw pullers, meat bandsaws and neck clippers.

According to the report, at least one 14-year-old at the Perdue facility suffered severe injuries while employed by Fayette. The agency noted that its investigations into Fayette are ongoing.

Following the filing, a Perdue spokesperson told MEAT+POULTRY that the company terminated the contract with Fayette before the new court filing.

“Underage labor has no place in our business or our industry,” the company said. “Perdue has strong safeguards in place to ensure that all associates are legally eligible to work in our facilities — and we expect the same of our vendors.”

Seaboard Triumph Foods also provided a statement that said that they terminated all contracts with Fayette in response to the allegations. 

“We were disturbed to learn of the allegations filed by the Department of Labor (DOL) against an outside vendor, Fayette Janitorial Services, relating to its alleged employment of possible underage workers,” Seaboard Triumph said. “ Such practices of an outside vendor, if true, are in violation of our company’s policies and procedures, which hold the safety and care of our workers in the highest regard.”

The company said Fayette recently began providing sanitation services at the Sioux City plant in September 2023.

“We will continue to fully cooperate with the Department of Labor on this matter,” Seaboard Triumph said.

Fayette did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication. The sanitation company employs more than 600 workers in 30 states.