US Department of Labour sues Hyundai over child labour in Alabama
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The United States Department of Labor filed a complaint on Thursday against South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co., an auto parts company, and a labour recruiter for the illegal use of child labour at an Alabama facility.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Montgomery, Alabama, also seeks an order forcing the firms to return any profits generated using child labour.
In 2022, Reuters reported that a Hyundai subsidiary and other parts suppliers in the Southern state employed youngsters as young as 12. The three defendants named in the current Labor Department petition for hiring a 13-year-old child are Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama LLC, SMART Alabama LLC, an auto parts company, and Best Practice Service LLC, a recruiting firm.
The Department's Wage and Hour Division discovered that the kid had worked up to 60 hours per week on a SMART assembly line, where he operated equipment that shaped sheet metal into automobile parts. The SMART facility supplies parts to Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, which manufactures popular models such as the Hyundai Santa Fe, Tucson, and Santa Cruz.
According to the complaint filed with the Labour Department, SMART informed the employment firm that "two additional employees were not welcome back at the facility due to their appearance and other physical characteristics, which suggested they were also underage."
"Companies cannot avoid liability by blaming suppliers or staffing companies for child labour violations when they are also employers," stated Solicitor of Labour Seema Nanda in a news statement.
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The case highlights continued worries about child labour practices in big firms' supply networks, particularly in locations with considerable industrial activity.
Hyundai Motor Co. and the connected defendants have yet to release a statement regarding the complaint. The case emphasises the need for strict adherence to labour rules, as well as global firms' ethical duties to maintain safe and lawful working conditions throughout their supply chains.
(With inputs from Reuters)