The Labor Division on Thursday sued Hyundai over using youngster labor in Alabama, holding the automobile producer chargeable for the employment of youngsters in its provide chain, together with a 13-year-old woman who labored as much as 60 hours per week making automobile elements.
Within the swimsuit, filed in a federal court docket in Montgomery, Ala., the division mentioned Hyundai was chargeable for the employment of youngsters at a Good Alabama manufacturing unit in Luverne, Ala., which produces elements like physique panels which are shipped to a Hyundai manufacturing unit in Montgomery. The swimsuit additionally claimed a staffing company, Greatest Observe Service, recruited the youngsters to work on the provider’s plant.
In an announcement, Hyundai mentioned youngster labor was “not in step with the requirements and values we maintain ourselves to as an organization.” It added that the Labor Division used “an unprecedented authorized principle that may unfairly maintain Hyundai accountable for the actions of its suppliers.”
Good didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. Representatives of Greatest Observe Service, which is not in enterprise, couldn’t be reached for remark.
From July 2021 to February 2022, a 13-year-old woman labored on the Good plant, the place she was recruited to work by Greatest Observe Service, the swimsuit claimed. The swimsuit additionally contended that two different youngsters had been employed on the plant.
The Labor Division mentioned that by means of the employment of youngsters at its provider, Hyundai was in violation of the “scorching items” provision of the Truthful Labor Requirements Act, which prevents the interstate commerce of products “that had been produced in violation of the minimal wage, additional time or youngster labor provisions” of that regulation.
“Corporations can’t escape legal responsibility by blaming suppliers or staffing firms for youngster labor violations when they’re in reality additionally employers themselves,” mentioned Seema Nanda, the Labor Division’s chief authorized officer, in an announcement Thursday.
The swimsuit comes after investigations by Reuters and The New York Instances documented using youngster labor by the suppliers of automobile firms. In 2022, Reuters discovered that Good Alabama had used youngster labor at its facility, and that Kia, which is a part of the identical South Korean conglomerate as Hyundai, had additionally used youngster labor within the South. A 2023 investigation by The Instances discovered youngsters employed on the suppliers of Basic Motors and Ford Motor.
Hyundai imports lots of its automobiles from South Korea however has made huge investments in factories within the South, spending practically $8 billion on an electrical car plant in Georgia. The United Car Employees union has mentioned it hopes to arrange staff at Hyundai’s Montgomery plant.
