>>Perdue Farms in Accomac Agrees to Pay Restitution for Hiring Children for Hazardous Jobs
(Accomac, VA) -- Perdue Farms has agreed to pay $4 million in restitution after being accused of illegally hiring children to work in a processing facility on the Eastern Shore. Thomas Cage explains.Preview: Voicer Script:
The U.S. Department of Labor reached an agreement with Perdue Farms and the staffing agency, Staff Management Solutions LLC and SMX LLC, for employing children in hazardous jobs such as deboning and processing chicken. The company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by allowing children to work after 7 p.m. during a regular school week and using illegal child labor. News4 Washington reports the restitution will benefit the children who were employed, organizations supporting child labor victims, and efforts to prevent child labor exploitation. Perdue Farms will also pay a $150,000 dollar civil penalty, while SMX will pay a separate $125,000 dollar civil penalty.