A Labor Department investigation has found at least two teenagers — one 16 years old and the other 17 — operating meat-processing equipment in violation of federal child labor restrictions at Monogram Meat Snacks LLC in Chandler, Minnesota.
The company, a subsidiary of Monogram Food Solutions LLC in Memphis Tennessee, paid $30,276 in civil money penalties for the violations and has agreed to hire a third-party consultant to monitor compliance with child labor provisions for three years, according to a DOL press release.
The DOL investigation opened on March 28, and soon after that the agency asked Monogram to stop shipping goods produced by child labor, DOL said. Monogram agreed to the request on April 24.
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Monogram later agreed to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act's child labor provisions "at all of its production facilities and warehouses nationwide" as part of a consent order and judgment filed in federal court in Minnesota on July 6.
In addition to paying the fine, the company said it would establish a toll-free number for employees to anonymously report compliance issues, notify the Labor Department of any child labor violations found, and submit a report within 180 days outlining steps to comply with the requirements of the consent order and judgment.
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