USA: Hyundai sued for employing children in a factory

The suit also claimed that a staffing agency, named 'Best Practice Service', recruited children to work at the supplier's plant.

According to media reports, the US Labor Department has sued South Korean carmaker Hyundai for employing children in its manufacturing facility in Luverne, Alabama.

The Smart Alabama factory produces body panels before supplying them to Hyundai's factory in Montgomery. In addition, the suit also claimed that a staffing agency, named 'Best Practice Service', recruited children to work at the supplier's plant.

The reports even mention a 13-year-old girl who is said to have worked 60 hours per week, making car parts at the Alabama factory. The 13-year-old is said to have been recruited by the aforementioned staffing agency. She worked in the Alabama factory between July 2021 and February 2022. The suit also contended that two other children were also employed in the same plant.

Seema Nanda, Chief Legal Officer at the US Labor Department, released a statement which read, "Companies cannot escape liability by blaming suppliers or staffing companies for child labour violations when they are in fact also employers themselves."

Hyundai has also released a statement which mentioned that child labour was "not consistent with the standards and values we hold ourselves to as a company.” The statement further stated that the labour department "used an unprecedented legal theory that would unfairly hold Hyundai accountable for the actions of its suppliers.”

Source: NYTimes