The Department of Labor has filed a complaint accusing the Hyundai plant and two Alabama companies of illegally employing children.
The Department’s Wage and Hour Division We conducted a survey to study It turns out that the 13-year-old was working 50 to 60 hours a week on an assembly line operating machines that turned sheet metal into car parts.
ComplaintsThe lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, asks a federal judge to ban the companies from using child labor and to forfeit any profits associated with the alleged practice.
The defendants in the lawsuit are Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama LLC, SMART Alabama LLC, and Best Practice Service LLC.
“In its complaint, the Department of Labor alleged that the three companies worked together to employ children,” the department said in a statement.
The ministry said the companies “willfully and repeatedly” violated child labor regulations between July 2021 and February 2022.
“The Department of Labor’s complaint seeks to hold all three employers in the supply chain accountable,” said U.S. Labor Counsel Seema Nanda. “Companies cannot avoid responsibility by blaming a staffing agency supplier that is in fact an employer itself for child labor violations.”
Jessica Luhmann, director of the department’s Wage and Hour Bureau, said the image of a 13-year-old boy working on an assembly line in the United States “shocks the conscience.”
The Hill has reached out to Hyundai for comment.
Associated Press The company reported The company said it was unfair to be held responsible for its suppliers’ practices.
“We are considering the new lawsuit and intend to vigorously defend our company,” the statement said.
