By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice
JBS USA Food Company, a leading meat packing processor and slaughterhouse in America, will pay $4 million in settlement to individuals and communities related to its unlawful child labor practices, the U.S. Department of Labor recently announced.
The agreement requires JBS to hold “key elements of its supply chain, third-party contractors and service providers accountable” for illegal child labor practices, the news release reads. JBS will additionally lead a targeted advertising campaign to raise awareness of unlawful child labor practices.
JBS claims to be the second-leading beef, pork and poultry producer in the United States, with more than 70,000 team members. The company has six operations in and is headquartered in Greeley. Other areas of operation include Guntersville, Ala.; Ottumwa, Iowa; Worthington, Minn.; and Grand Island, Neb. It supplies meat products to 44 countiries on six continents, the press release reads, and records $50 billion in annual sales. The company’s products are sold under the brands Pilgrim’s, Primo and Swift.
“Host companies like JBS have enormous leverage to help prevent child labor in their supply chains and even more broadly in the industry,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “With this agreement, JBS USA Food Co. is taking significant steps to ensure children are not put in harm’s way at its facilities or by its contractors.”
Additionally, Perdue Farms also made a similar settlement, the New York Times reports, lifting the total settlement for child labor violations to $8 million.
The deals were announced in last-minute Biden Administration child labor settlements.