The United States Department of Labor (DOL) has filed a complaint against Hyundai and two other Alabama companies for illegally employing children. The complaint, filed on Thursday, May 30, 2024, includes a Hyundai assembly and manufacturing plant in Alabama. The US DOL took this action after its Wage and Hour Division discovered a 13-year-old child working on an assembly line in Luverne, Alabama.
In response to the findings, Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman expressed shock, stating, “A 13-year-old working on an assembly line in the United States of America shocks the conscience.” She emphasized the agency’s commitment to stopping illegal child labor and holding employers accountable for violating the law. According to the Division’s investigation, the child was reportedly working up to 50-60 hours per week at the plant, operating machines for sheet metal for auto parts.
The Department has named three companies as defendants in the complaint: Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama LLC, SMART Alabama LLC, and Best Practice Service, LLC. The complaint alleges that all three companies jointly employed the child and willfully and repeatedly violated child labor provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act between July 11, 2021, through February 1, 2022. Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda stated that the Department’s complaint seeks to hold all three employers accountable in the supply chain.