Qvest LLC has been ordered to pay $171,919 in penalties after federal investigators found that the sanitation contractor employed 11 children at a Sioux City pork processing plant, the U.S. Department of Labor recently announced.
Federal law forbids children under age 18 from being employed in dangerous jobs common in meat and poultry slaughtering, processing, rendering and packing operations.
“Under a consent order and judgment, approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa on Nov. 27, Qvest LLC must pay $171,919 in child labor civil money penalties, hire a third-party to review and implement company policies to prevent the employment of children in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and establish a process for reporting concerns about the illegal employment of children,” the Department of Labor wrote in a release.
According to the release, Seaboard Triumph Foods contracted Fayette Janitorial Service LLC in September 2023 for sanitation work at its facility. In May 2024, the department entered into a consent order and judgment with Fayette after division investigators found the Somerville, Tenn., contractor employed nine children illegally at the Sioux City pork processing facility. After Fayette took over the plant’s sanitation services contract, Fayette rehired some of the children previously employed by Qvest.
In fiscal year 2024, the Wage and Hour Division concluded 736 investigations uncovering child labor violations that affected 4,030 children, and assessed employers more than $15.1 million in penalties for violating federal child labor laws, an 89% increase since 2023.
