Monogram Meat Snacks is paying a fine of $140,164 in civil penalties for violating child labor laws, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The company allegedly employed at least 11 children, nine of whom operated hazardous machinery, at its meatpacking and food processing facility that is located in Chandler, Minnesota.
The company agreed to pay the penalty as part of an investigation that was conducted by the department’s Wage and Hour Division. The investigation started in March 2023. Federal officials determined that during that period, Monogram Meats Snacks employed five 17-year-olds, four 16-year-olds, and two 15-year olds in violation of federal child labor laws.
Principal Deputy Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman said in a statement, “As we made clear earlier this year, the Department of Labor and the Biden-Harris administration are committed to combating the troubling increase in child labor violations. No employer should ever jeopardize the safety of children by employing them to operate dangerous equipment. Employers are legally responsible to recognize potential child labor violations and to take all appropriate actions to verify that they are not employing children illegally.”
The employees is prohibited from shipping snack foods such as beef jerky, cheese, and sausage under the “hot goods” provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act. A consent decree and order was entered into on July 6, 2023 at the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
The decree requires the company to not violate child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and to take specific steps to ensure compliance. The company must hire a third party consultant to conduct nationwide audits, to establish a toll-free number for employees to report potential violations, and to identify and mark hazardous equipment.
Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda said in a statement, “The employment of children in hazardous occupations cannot be allowed here in the U.S. or in any other nation. In this and similar cases, we have put companies that employ children to produce goods illegally on notice that we will stop them from shipping and selling goods produced under the ‘hot goods’ provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act.”
Monogram Meat Snacks is a subsidiary of Monogram Food Solutions LLC that is located in Memphis, Tennessee. Monogram also operates and employs workers in meat-packing establishments in Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
