Tyson, Perdue Farms Under Investigation Over Disturbing Child Labor Allegations

The U.S. Labor Department has launched an investigation into alleged child labor violations at poultry-processing behemoths Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) and Perdue Farms.

The New York Times reported on Friday that the federal inquiry is examining whether the companies used migrant children to clean slaughterhouses, a hazardous job banned for minors by federal law.

The federal probe was triggered by a New York Times Magazine article detailing the employment of migrant children as young as 13 in overnight shifts at the companies' plants in Virginia. The minors were tasked with cleaning blood, grease and feathers from the plants' machineries.

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The Labor Department's chief legal officer, Seema Nanda, stated that the Biden administration is scrutinizing whether large companies can be held liable for child labor within their factories, even if the minors are employed through contractors.

Both Tyson and Perdue have denied knowledge of children working in their plants and pledged to cooperate with the investigations. Tyson has now directly hired cleaners at 40% of its slaughterhouses, while Perdue has engaged an external auditor to recommend new policies.

The Labor Department is also investigating the cleaning contractors for Tyson and Perdue in Virginia, Fayette Industrial and QSI, part of the Vincit Group conglomerate.

As of the latest trading session, Tyson shares have fallen 2.1% and Perdue shares have dipped 3.3%.

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This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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