Meat processor agrees to reform hiring after two teens were found at a Minnesota plant

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A company involved in meat processing has agreed to reform its hiring practices after investigators found it was illegally employing teenagers.

The Labor Department said Friday that Monogram Foods will pay a more than $30,000 fine as part of an agreement reached after a 16-year-old and 17-year-old were found to be working at the company’s Chandler, Minnesota, plant.

A separate investigation earlier this year found more than 100 kids were working overnight for PSSI, a company that cleans meat processing plants.

The Labor Department is focused on child labor concerns because it has seen a 69% increase in the number of children employed illegally across all industries since 2018.