An Alabama factory that makes parts for Kia and Hyundai employed children as young as 13, a Labor Department investigation found
The company has paid around $48,000 in fines after the DOL said it had hired workers under the age of 14.
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- An auto parts manufacturer in Alabama has been ordered to stop hiring underage workers.
- The DOL said the company had illegally hired minors under the age of 16, and as young as 13.
- It was fined $30,000 by the DOL and $17,800 by the Alabama Department of Labor.
A manufacturer of auto parts in Alabama has been ordered to stop hiring underage workers.
The US Department of Labor said that SL Alabama in Alexander City had violated laws by employing workers under the age of 14 and by hiring workers under the age of 16 in manufacturing roles.
The DOL obtained a federal court order to stop SL Alabama from employing workers aged 15 and under, and to prevent the company from shipping or delivering any goods produced in violation of child-labor laws under the Fair Labor Standards Act. SL Alabama also paid a $30,076 civil money penalty to address the violations.
The Alabama Department of Labor also fined SL Alabama and JK USA, an employment agency, $17,800 each for violating child-labor laws, including allegedly hiring three workers aged 13, 15, and 15 to operate plastic bonding machines and not obtaining proper child-labor permits.
SL Alabama, which has around 650 workers in the Alexander City area, manufactures headlights, rear combination lights, and side mirrors for automakers including Korean sister companies Hyundai and Kia.
"Exploitation of children is shameful in any circumstance, but it is especially distressing to see it take place at a supplier to a major automotive company such as Hyundai," Ray Curry, president of the United Auto Workers' union, said in a statement.
The FLSA only permits children under the age of 14 to work in a limited range of jobs, including delivering newspapers, babysitting, and working for a business owned by their parents. Children aged 14 and 15 are prohibited from being employed in "hazardous" occupations.
The FLSA also makes it illegal for employers to ship products from worksites where child-labor laws have been violated.
The consent judgment on September 29 also required SL Alabama to give training materials to employees and subcontractors to ensure they comply with child-labor standards and to provide third-party training to management personnel and subcontractors each quarter over the next three years.
The company must also sanction management personnel and terminate agreements with any subcontractors found responsible for child-labor violations.
SL Alabama told Reuters that it had cooperated with regulators, terminated its relationship with the staffing firm that had provided it with underage workers, agreed to fines and other measures, and replaced the facility's president.
The company added that it had "never knowingly employed minors to work at any of its facilities."
Kia Georgia told Insider that it doesn't tolerate unlawful or unethical workplace practices internally or from its business partners and suppliers. It said it had directed its suppliers to validate their employment screening.
JK USA and Hyundai, as well as an attorney for SL Alabama, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside of regular working hours.