(Omaha, NE) -- A Wisconsin based sanitation company is fined by the U.S. Department of Labor for employing minors on dangerous kill floors at meat processing facilities, including three in Nebraska.
On Friday, the Labor Department announced that Packers Sanitation Services Inc., based in Kieler, Wisconsin, has been fined $1.5 million for employing more than 100 minors children at 13 meat processing facilities in eight states. Three of the facilities are in Nebraska:
- 27 at JBS Foods in Grand Island
- 1 at at Gibbon Packing Co. in Gibbon
- 5 at Greater Omaha Packing Co. in Omaha
The minors, between the ages of 13 and 17, were reportedly working overnight shifts, using hazardous chemicals and cleaning sharp meat processing equipment like saws. Nebraska had the highest number of employed minors of the eight states involved in the investigation. Packers Sanitation Services was ordered to pay more than $15,000 for each child.