The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on Wednesday sued Hyundai Motor’s first U.S. assembly and manufacturing plant and two of its partners, alleging that the three companies illegally employed children, court documents showed.
The Department of Labor sought injunctions to prevent Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA), auto parts maker Smart Alabama, and staffing company Best Practice Services (BPS) from violating child labor laws in the future. Federal court complaint The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, also asked the court to order the companies to “repay profits attributable to oppressive child labor practices,” according to the document.
Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su alleged that the companies “employed harsh child labor” while helping to produce vehicles for sale in the United States between approximately July 11, 2021 and approximately February 1, 2022.
The 13-year-old girl, identified as EC, allegedly worked “50 to 60 hours per week” operating a metal stamping press on a SMART assembly line in Luverne, Ala. BPS sent the girl to SMART even though it “knew or had reason to know” she was a minor, the DOL alleges.
“Instead of attending middle school, she worked on an assembly line making parts,” the Department of Labor alleges in the lawsuit, “that were shipped to Montgomery, Alabama and ultimately installed in vehicles sold to consumers across the country.”
Other minors also worked for those companies, according to the complaint. (Related: Ford shareholders reject proposed audit of child labor in electric vehicle supply chain)
We know that three Alabama companies, including one @Hyundai Prohibit the illegal employment of children in assembly and manufacturing plants. The lawsuit also asks that the court require the companies to give up profits from the exploitation of children. pic.twitter.com/QINqfqZpQU
— U.S. Department of Labor (@USDOL) May 30, 2024
All three companies were liable because BPS supplied labor to SMART and SMART oversaw the minors’ daily production, which was shipped to HMMA, according to the complaint. HMMA’s parent company, Hyundai Motor America, owned 72.45% of SMART’s parent company, SMART, Inc., the complaint noted. SMART was financially, managerially and technically dependent on HMMA, according to the complaint. HMMA also received all or substantially all of the auto parts manufactured by SMART during the period at issue and “indirectly controlled and supervised the minor employees,” the DOL further alleged.
“After it was discovered that EC was employed at the Luverne facility, SMART informed BPS that two additional employees were not welcome to return to the facility because their appearance and other physical characteristics indicated they may be minors,” the lawsuit reads in part.
According to the complaint, SMART became ITAC Alabama on Nov. 1, 2023, a time period that is not the subject of the lawsuit. SMART became ITAC after undergoing a reorganization after 20 years of operation. according to ITAC website.
HMMA is Hyundai’s first assembly and manufacturing plant in the United States. according to HMMA website. HMMA’s 3.4 million square foot manufacturing facility, valued at $1.8 billion, opened on May 20, 2005. I got it..
“Child labor is an unfortunate reality in America today,” the complaint states.
“A 13-year-old boy working on an assembly line in the United States of America shocks the conscience,” said Jessica Luhmann, director of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. DOL press release.
“We will continue to work to stop illegal child labour where we find it and ensure that all employers are held accountable for breaking the law,” Luhmann reportedly added.
