Comment on Labor Department puts spotlight on child labor in slaughterhouses with 3 settlements this week

OMAHA, Neb. — The problem of kids working in dangerous slaughterhouses continues to be a concern as the Labor Department announced its third agreement this week with a company in the industry agreeing to pay a penalty and reform its practices to help ensure it won’t hire underage workers again. On Thursday, the Department said investigators found that another slaughterhouse cleaning company called QSI had employed 54 children at 13 meatpacking plants in eight states on overnight shifts sanitizing the industrial carving and slicing machines companies use to produce beef and chicken between 2021 and 2024.