Child Labor Claims Lead to Packers Sanitation Consent Order (1)

A federal judge in Nebraska has approved an agreement between the US Department of Labor and a company accused of hiring 50 underage workers to clean meatpacking plants.

The nationwide consent order issued Tuesday by the US District Court for the District of Nebraska requires Packers Sanitation Service Inc. Ltd. of Kieler, Wis., to obey federal child labor laws that prohibit children 17 and younger from working in meat processing plants.

Packers Sanitation is a national company contracted by food processors to clean machinery, floors, and tables, often late at night when the plants are otherwise shut down. By federal ...