Bill Cassidy - Ranking Member of the Senate HELP Committee | Official U.S. Senate headshot
Bill Cassidy - Ranking Member of the Senate HELP Committee | Official U.S. Senate headshot
U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, has initiated an investigation into child labor violations in the meat production and chemical industries. This investigation follows Cassidy's inquiry into Packers Sanitation Services, Inc. (PSSI), where it was discovered that the company employed over 102 children, including unaccompanied migrants as young as 13 years old, in hazardous conditions.
The Department of Labor (DOL) conducted an investigation into PSSI in 2022, and as a result, announced a larger investigation into major meat producers and chemical sanitation companies that collaborate with these producers. The focus of this investigation is the employment of children in hazardous jobs, which is in violation of federal law.
One of the major meat manufacturers under investigation is Perdue Farms, where a fourteen-year-old migrant child from Guatemala working at a Perdue slaughterhouse in Virginia had a near-fatal accident. The child's arm was almost severed by a buzz saw while he was cleaning machinery. Monogram Food Program, a meat processing and packing company, has also faced legal action from the U.S. District Court in Minnesota for engaging in "oppressive child labor." Additionally, QSI Solutions, a chemical sanitation company, has recently been named in a DOL investigation for child labor violations.
The reports reveal shocking instances of companies hiring migrant children for dangerous and life-threatening work. Senator Cassidy has previously demanded answers from the Department of Labor after reports emerged that senior agency officials ignored warnings and downplayed the exploitation of migrant children for cheap labor.
In light of these findings, Senator Cassidy is seeking information from the implicated companies regarding their policies to prevent future illegal hiring of children. He also wants to determine whether these companies have held senior employees accountable for engaging in such practices.
The full letters sent by Senator Cassidy to Monogram Food Solutions, Perdue Farms, and QSI Sanitation can be accessed for further details.
For more news and updates from HELP Republicans, please visit their website or follow them on Twitter at @GOPHELP.
Alerts Sign-up