An investigation by the US Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division has discovered that QSI LLC, headquartered in Chattanooga, Tenn., employed children on overnight sanitation shifts at 13 meat and poultry processing facilities from January 2021 through February 2024 in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Violations were found in Alabama, California, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia. 

The DOL has entered into an agreement with the Tennessee cleaning contractor that requires the employer to pay $400,000 in civil money penalties, monitor and audit policies to prevent the employment of children in dangerous jobs, and maintain a toll-free number for reporting concerns about the illegal employment of children. 

“The Department of Labor is determined to stop our nation’s children from being endangered in jobs for which they should never be hired and to leverage our enforcement work to affect industries,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “With this agreement, QSI LLC is taking responsibility for its historical violations and agreeing to strong compliance practices at all of its work locations.”

In addition to the penalties for the child labor violations, the agreement requires QSI LLC to: 

• Resurvey all of its work locations to determine if any employees are under the age of 18.
• Review and evaluate child-labor compliance training materials for managers.
• Maintain accurate records of all employees, including date of birth and work tasks assigned.
• Incorporate an anti-child labor provision in its third-party contracts and attach Fact Sheet #43 on Child Labor in Non­Agriculture Occupations to all contracts for its services.
• Maintain a toll-free hotline number for people to seek guidance and/or to report child labor compliance concerns anonymously.

“The safety of young workers will always be the top priority for the U.S. Department of Labor,” said Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman. “The department has taken significant steps to prevent and address illegal child labor across the country. This agreement, like the others the department has secured, is about keeping kids safe now and in the future.”  

QSI released the following statement: 

"The Department of Labor’s announcement today is simply not accurate. Our settlement agreement contains no admission by QSI or any finding of violations. We entered into this voluntary settlement agreement only after DOL’s investigation found zero underage individuals on-site or working at QSI and to avoid the time and expense of litigation. DOL has refused to disclose any information whatsoever regarding alleged “violations” (none of which could be verified by third party auditors). DOL acknowledged it has not identified any current violations, and that QSI’s industry-best compliance measures are working effectively. Our settlement is not a consent order and judgment as every other contract sanitation company has been required to enter and does not require any additional DOL oversight or monitoring beyond best practices QSI voluntarily put in place long before DOL’s investigation began. 

QSI has a zero-tolerance policy for any employment of underage workers. We have taken extensive steps over the last two and a half years to strengthen our hiring and compliance practices as we continue to serve our customers with integrity and excellence.”

Source: US Department of Labor