The U.S. Department of Labor filed a complaint yesterday asking a Federal Court to prevent three Alabama companies, including a Hyundai U.S. manufacturing plant, from employing children illegally. The suit also requests that the court require the three companies to surrender (disgorge in legalese) profits related to the use of oppressive child labor. Parts involved in the child labor suit are used in Hyundai Santa Cruz, Santa Fe and Tucson models. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama LLC operates a plant in Montgomery. At the time of the events now before the court, SMART Alabama LLC manufactured component parts in Luverne. Best Practice Service LLC was a staffing agency in Montgomery that supplied labor to SMART Alabama.
“A 13-year-old working on an assembly line in the United States of America shocks the conscience,” said Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman. “As we work to stop illegal child labor where we find it, we also continue to ensure that all employers are held accountable for violating the law.”
The department’s Office of the Solicitor filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama in Montgomery. The action results from an investigation by DOL’s Wage and Hour Division. It found that a 13-year-old worked up to 50-60 hours per week on an assembly line in Luverne, Alabama operating machines that formed sheet metal into auto body parts. In the complaint filed, the department named three companies as defendants, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, SMART Alabama and Best Practice Service. Best Practice Service sent the child to SMART Alabama, which provided component parts to Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. In the complaint, the department alleged that all three companies jointly employed the child.
During fiscal year 2023, the department investigated 955 cases with child labor violations, involving 5792 children nationwide, including 502 children employed in violation of hazardous occupation standards. TheDepartment addressed those violations by assessing employer more than $8 million in civil money penalties. The Wage and Hour Division offers confidential compliance assistance to anyone – regardless of where they are from – with questions about the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and other federal labor laws. Workers and employers can call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.
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About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Department of Labor Sues Hyundai U.S. Over Child Labor
The U.S. Department of Labor filed a complaint yesterday asking a Federal Court to prevent three Alabama companies, including a Hyundai U.S. manufacturing plant, from employing children illegally. The suit also requests that the court require the three companies to surrender (disgorge in legalese) profits related to the use of oppressive child labor. Parts involved in the child labor suit are used in Hyundai Santa Cruz, Santa Fe and Tucson models. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama LLC operates a plant in Montgomery. At the time of the events now before the court, SMART Alabama LLC manufactured component parts in Luverne. Best Practice Service LLC was a staffing agency in Montgomery that supplied labor to SMART Alabama.
“A 13-year-old working on an assembly line in the United States of America shocks the conscience,” said Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman. “As we work to stop illegal child labor where we find it, we also continue to ensure that all employers are held accountable for violating the law.”
The department’s Office of the Solicitor filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama in Montgomery. The action results from an investigation by DOL’s Wage and Hour Division. It found that a 13-year-old worked up to 50-60 hours per week on an assembly line in Luverne, Alabama operating machines that formed sheet metal into auto body parts. In the complaint filed, the department named three companies as defendants, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, SMART Alabama and Best Practice Service. Best Practice Service sent the child to SMART Alabama, which provided component parts to Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. In the complaint, the department alleged that all three companies jointly employed the child.
During fiscal year 2023, the department investigated 955 cases with child labor violations, involving 5792 children nationwide, including 502 children employed in violation of hazardous occupation standards. TheDepartment addressed those violations by assessing employer more than $8 million in civil money penalties. The Wage and Hour Division offers confidential compliance assistance to anyone – regardless of where they are from – with questions about the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and other federal labor laws. Workers and employers can call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.
AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.