In a groundbreaking move, the U.S. Department of Labor has sought a court order to halt the sale of poultry products from Mar Jac Poultry, a major Alabama-based processing plant, following allegations of child labor. The federal investigators claim to have discovered six underage workers at the plant, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing battle against child labor in the United States.
The Department of Labor filed a civil action against Mar Jac on May 7, aiming to cease the production and sale of goods allegedly tainted with child labor until the end of the month. The court documents revealed that the underage workers were found on May 1, 2024, "working on the kill floor deboning poultry and cutting carcasses." The children had reportedly been working at the facility for months.
Mar Jac Poultry, the largest employer in Walker County, Alabama, has contested the move, arguing that it would cause undue hardship for over 1,000 workers. The company's attorneys claimed that the underage employees had used forged documents to pass the E-verify system and were terminated once their real ages were discovered. They also insisted that the teens were not employed in hazardous areas and that their work resembled a commercial kitchen more than a kill floor.
However, the Department of Labor has been using the "hot goods" provision since last year to prevent companies from profiting from child labor. The company argued that enforcing a temporary halt in chicken sales would have far-reaching consequences, including laying off approximately 1,000 employees for 30 days and the destruction of millions of chickens.
This is not the first time Mar Jac has faced penalties for labor violations. The company, which also operates in Georgia and Mississippi, was fined over $200,000 after a 16-year-old worker died while cleaning machinery at their Hattiesburg, Mississippi plant.
Debbie Berkowitz, a worker safety expert in poultry plants, noted that child labor became a significant issue during the COVID pandemic when plants lost many employees. She added that the increase in child labor cases has pushed the Department of Labor to impose tougher penalties.
The Department of Labor's investigation into Mar Jac began following a tip-off that underage workers were employed at the plant. Subsequent court filings revealed that two more underage employees had been identified. Berkowitz stated that the company was already under scrutiny following the death in Hattiesburg last year, and the discovery of underage workers in Alabama indicates a pattern of employing underage workers.
Despite the allegations, Mar Jac maintains that it should not be barred from selling or shipping chicken because a few underage workers used falsified documents. The company has yet to comment on the ongoing legal proceedings.
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