CHICAGO – Another recent report and agreement by the US Department of Labor announced it would require QSI LLC, a cleaning contractor for meat processors, to pay $400,000 in civil money penalties for previous child labor violations.

The Wage and Hour Division stated the agreement comes after investigating QSI employing overnight sanitation shifts at 13 meat and poultry processing facilities from January 2021 through February 2024 in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The agency added it found violations in Alabama, California, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia.

In its response to the agreement, QSI pushed back on the findings from DOL on the matter, calling it “simply not accurate.”

“Our settlement agreement contains no admission by QSI or any finding of violations,” a QSI spokesperson told MEAT+POULTRY. “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. The fine is a negotiated number – it is not based on a number of violations as is typical for civil money penalties for underage workers.”

The company noted 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,” the spokesperson said.

DOL explained the agreement requires QSI to re-survey all of its work locations to determine if any employees are under the age of 18. The agency added that the company would review and evaluate child labor compliance training materials for managers.

QSI must maintain records of all employees, including date of birth and work tasks assigned, according to DOL. The company will also need to keep a toll-free hotline number for people to seek guidance and/or to report child labor compliance concerns anonymously.

DOL previously made agreements with JBS USA and Perdue Farms on child labor compliance this week.