11 children discovered working ‘hazardous’ late-night cleaning shift at meat processing plant, investigators report

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A cleaning company, Qvest LLC, has been fined $171,000 after 11 children were found working overnight shifts at a meat processing plant in Iowa. The children were tasked with cleaning dangerous equipment with corrosive cleaners, in violation of U.S. laws prohibiting anyone under 18 from working in meat processing. Qvest must pay the fine and cease engaging in oppressive child labor. Seaboard Triumph Foods, the plant where the children were working, stated that it was not involved in the wrongdoing and has not used Qvest’s services for over a year. A third-party company will review Qvest’s underage employment policies, and a whistleblower hotline will be established. This is the second time children have been found working at the same facility, with previous violations by another contractor. The U.S. Department of Labor found more than 4,000 child labor violations in the 2024 financial year, resulting in over $15 million in fines, an 89% increase from the previous year. Seaboard Triumph’s counsel, Paul DeCamp, stated that businesses are being victimized by workers using fraudulent documents to obtain jobs, including minors. NBC News conducted an investigation into underage workers in slaughterhouses, highlighting the dangers and risks involved, with examples such as 16-year-old Duvan Pérez, who tragically died after getting stuck in machinery.

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