Department of Labor Investigating Child Labor Claims at Tyson

After a shocking accusation, the United States Department of Labor has been called in to investigate Tyson Foods, a giant in the poultry industry, for child labor law violations.

The accusations are that in Arkansas, Tyson Foods is using underage children to work in two of their factories.

Court documents unsealed in the Western District of Arkansas reveal accusations of child labor at Tyson processing plants, which triggered searches by the U.S. Department of Labor.

There are two locations that are being investigated. These investigations started in June of 2024.

They stem from an anonymous whistle blower who alerted the Wage and Hour Division at the U.S. Department of Labor.

Once the feds were involved, things started progressing faster and deeper.

The applications for the warrants claim that there is reason to believe minors are employed in violation of labor laws at the Tyson locations in Rogers and Green Forest.

Here is what is known about the anonymous tip for the Rogers, Ark., plant location: A teacher overheard a 14-year-old student in her class talking about working with their mother at the plant over the summer.

Can we just say God bless our teachers for always keeping a look out and saying something when they see something.

The Green Forest, Ark., situation is a tad more disturbing. A mom of middle schoolers overheard children who were between ages 11 and 13 talking about working at the chicken plant.

Even more disturbing was their shifts. The children were working the night shift, which goes from 11PM-6AM at Tyson Foods. Let that sink in: 11-year-olds working the late night/overnight shift.

Do their parents know? Are they sneaking out to go to work? So many questions.

The children were allegedly heard talking about not knowing how to get money from their paycheck out of the ATM, the unsealed court documents said.

Tyson Foods has issued a response to these allegations and investigations:

“To be clear, we do not allow the employment of anyone under the age of 18 in any of our facilities, and we do not facilitate, excuse or in any other way participate in the use of child labor. We take the enforcement of all labor laws very seriously, and we have procedures in place to verify the age of all team members, and fully participate with the federal government’s E-Verify and IMAGE programs. We have fully cooperated with the Department of Labor, and they have not provided us with any information that would suggest that any of our policies or practices were violated.”

Not sure how this one will play out, but things look a little foul at the chicken plant.