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(CN) — For the second time in three years, the U.S. Department of Labor on sued suppliers for automotive manufacturer Hyundai at its assembly plant in Alabama, accusing the companies of knowingly employing minors in violation of child labor laws.
In a complaint filed Thursday in the Middle District of Alabama, Acting Secretary of Labor Julie A. Su claims a 13-year-old girl, who should have been enrolled in middle school, worked up to 60 hours per week at a facility owned by SMART Alabama LLC in the small city of Luverne, about 50 miles south of Montgomery.
The girl worked for as long as seven months at the facility, which produces component parts on an assembly line that are then shipped to the Hyundai plant in Montgomery, where the company assembles several models of Hyundai and Genesis branded vehicles. Hyundai owns a 72.45% stake in SMART, according to the complaint. Su listed Hyundai and SMART as defendants, as well as Best Practice Service LLC, a staffing company.
All defendants are obligated to follow the regulations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Alabama Child Labor Law, which allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work a light schedule for some employers, with a valid certificate. The Alabama defendants are charged with allowing the unnamed minor employee to work excess hours in an unapproved capacity: Federal law specifically prohibits individuals under the age of 16 from working in manufacturing environments.
The complaint says SMART employed other minors in violation of the law, too, but fired them upon the commencement of the Department of Labor’s investigation. The employees were referred to the facility by Best Practice Service, which “knew or had reason to know” the employees were underage.
Hyundai and SMART are so tightly woven together with financing and officers that the two constitute a “single employer for the purposes of liability,” the complaint says. But all three defendants are responsible for — and profited from — the “oppressive child labor.”
In 2022, the federal government another Hyundai supplier, SL Alabama, under nearly identical circumstances. The parties in that case quickly entered into a consent decree with the defendant agreeing not to employ anyone under the age of 16 or work with any subcontractors who do, while also submitting to child labor training and occasional audits. The company was also levied a fine of $30,076 from the federal government and $17,800 from the state government.
In an emailed statement Thursday, Michael Stewart, director of public relations and communication for Hyundai said “the use of child labor, and breach of any labor law, is not consistent with the standards and values we hold ourselves to as a company.”
The company, Stewart added, “worked over many months to thoroughly investigate this issue and took immediate and extensive remedial measures.”
Hyundai has urged the Department of Labor to limit its liability, Stewart said, but he added the agency is “seeking to apply an unprecedented legal theory that would unfairly hold Hyundai accountable for the actions of its suppliers and set a concerning precedent for other automotive companies and manufacturers.”
The company has required its suppliers to sever ties with employment agencies responsible for screening the minor employees and has “implemented new, more stringent workforce standards throughout our supply chain following the investigation.” Hyundai intends to fight the charges, according to Stewart.
Hyundai, which is based in South Korea, earned $9.7 billion in profits in 2023. A request for comment from SMART Alabama was not timely returned.
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