SIOUX CITY, IOWA – The US Department of Labor (DOL) released new information on Nov. 29 about plans to fine a second sanitation contractor at the Seaboard Triumph Foods LLC pork processing facility in Sioux City that employed minors.

The consent order and judgment approved by the US District Court of the Northern District of Iowa stated that Qvest LLC must pay almost $172,000 in civil money penalties.

The notice from the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division found that the sanitation contractor employed 11 minors to use corrosive cleaners to clean head splitters, jaw pullers, bandsaws, neck clippers and other equipment at the Seaboard Triumph Foods facility from at least September 2019 through September 2023.   

In May 2024, Fayette Janitorial Service, another contractor for Seaboard Triumph, was also fined by the DOL after an investigation into similar violations of federal regulations. 

According to the DOL investigations, Fayette took over the plant’s sanitation services contract and rehired some of the children previously employed by Qvest. 

Along with the fine, the consent order required Qvest to hire a third-party consultant or compliance specialist with experience complying with the Fair Labor Standards Act’s child labor provisions within 90 days.

Qvest, at the direction of the DOL, would also establish a toll-free number for people to anonymously report child labor compliance issues.

Another requirement from the judgment includes maintaining accurate records of all employees, including date of birth and assigned work tasks.

The legal filings against Qvest Sanitation do not include any claims against Seaboard Triumph, the processor clarified. Furthermore, the company stated it did not employ any of the alleged individuals and has no evidence that any underage individuals accessed the plant. Notably, Qvest has not been present at the Seaboard Triumph facility for more than a year, as the company’s sanitation needs are currently supported through an ongoing partnership with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW).

“This situation underscores the problems facing employers throughout the country: individuals, including minors, obtaining jobs through their use of fraudulent identification documents, which are sophisticated enough to fool even the federal government’s E-Verify system," said Paul DeCamp, former head of the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, and counsel for Seaboard Triumph Foods. "Businesses are victimized by this fraud."

This story has been modified to include a comment from Seaboard Triumph Foods.