"Child Labor Allegations: Minors Hired to Clean Slaughterhouse Equipment, Federal Investigations Reveal"
The Labor Department has filed a request for a temporary restraining order and injunction against Fayette Janitorial Service LLC, a Tennessee-based company, for employing at least 24 children between the ages of 13 and 17 to clean dangerous equipment at slaughterhouses in Virginia and Iowa. The company's actions violate federal laws prohibiting minors from working in such hazardous environments, and the investigation was prompted by a report in The New York Times Magazine. Meat processing is known to be one of the nation's most dangerous industries, and the company's hiring of minors highlights the ongoing issue of child labor in the United States.