JBS USA terminates contract with US company fined for hiring kids

JBS USA has terminated its contract with a US company that was fined for hiring kids to clean meat plants. The company announced the termination of this contract on Monday, adding that some of its work was brought in-house to some facilities.

JBS USA terminates contract with US company for hiring kids

JBS USA is the unit of the Brazilian meatpacker known as JBS SA. The company has announced changes to its meat production after an investigation conducted by the US government into a food-safety sanitation company known as Packers Sanitation Services Inc (PSSI).

The investigations into PSSI have not only triggered changes at JBS USA, but they have also prompted other top meat companies to make adjustments. JBS issued a statement on the changes saying that it does not tolerate child labour. The company also said that it was shifting its operations away from PSSI at each location where the allegations of child labour violations happened.

The meatpacker is also making significant changes to its supply chain. The company has announced plans to use third-party providers at some of its plans, while hiring its own workers at other plants.

Some of the plants that will be affected by these changes include a beef facility based in Cactus, Texas. However, this facility was not one of the sites where the alleged events of child labour happened.

Data from the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) shows that the PSSI will get rid of 113 positions in Cactus, Texas. These positions will be eliminated on May 30 as per the data.

The PSSI has also said that the WARN notice applied to the JBS Plant in Cactus. The company has previously issued a statement on the matter saying that it did not tolerate the policy of employing minors.

Child labour charges against PSSI

In February, the US Department of Labor released a statement saying that PSSI had agreed to pay $1.5 million in penalties. These penalties were charged to the company for employing over 100 teenagers to partake in risky jobs at meatpacking plants. The company employed teenagers at its plants across eight states.

Two of the largest penalties that the company paid were attributed to the PSSI contracts at JBS plants in Minnesota and Nebraska. A fine was also imposed against PSSI for hiring underage employees to work at a third party JBS facility based in Colorado. These children also worked at facilities owned by other meat companies.

The Labor Department has not filed charges against the meatpackers for any wrongdoing. However, the Biden administration has urged all the meat companies to examine their supply chain and find any evidence of child labour.

There have been increased cases of the illegal use of child workers. In most cases, these child workers are migrants. The reported cases are in chicken plants in Alabama and by contractors that have employed workers at Kia and Hyundai assembly plants. However, these automakers have refuted charges of labour law violations.