CALIFORNIA – Federal labor investigators are cracking down on a poultry company in the Los Angeles area, urging it to forfeit profits allegedly gained by employing minors in hazardous labor.
At least two minors were found working in hazardous conditions, deboning raw poultry with sharp knives at a poultry processing plant in Irwindale, according to claims by the U.S. Department of Labor in a recent lawsuit.
The department also accuses the owner of the processing plant, Fu Qian Chen Lu, and the owners of two other associated companies, of unlawfully shipping poultry products manipulated by underage workers, violating the “hot goods” provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Instead of being in school, children under 18 spent their days in a refrigerated cutting room surrounded by raw chicken, using knives that had to be constantly sharpened to perform cutting and deboning tasks, according to lawyers for the labor department in court documents.
The lawsuit also alleges that Chen Lu obstructed the efforts of labor department investigators by refusing to provide necessary information to determine potential labor law violations.
A federal judge in Los Angeles issued a temporary restraining order against the defendants and their companies, ordering them to cease employing child labor, refrain from shipping products from facilities accused of using child labor, and fully cooperate with the labor department.
Meanwhile, allegations of child labor employment have elicited mixed responses. An attorney representing Chen Lu and the other defendants accuses the labor department of intentionally placing a minor in the facilities, a claim that the department vehemently denies.
Investigators discovered the presence of minors working at the poultry processing plant during a search warrant executed on March 20. According to court documents, the labor department reported that minors have been working at the Irwindale facility since at least October.
Under pressure from the investigation, the Irwindale plant closed its doors. Further details on the case and the conditions faced by underage workers are still under investigation.
