In 2022, shocking revelations emerged that a major American company employed children as young as 13 in dangerous slaughterhouse jobs, despite child labor laws outlawed 85 years ago. The company, Packers Sanitation Services, Inc. (PSSI), a significant player in national food safety, along with its parent company Blackstone, claimed ignorance of employing minors across eight states. However, it was teachers in Nebraska who noticed and reported the issue, leading to a broader investigation by the Department of Labor which found this practice was standard procedure, not an isolated incident, with widespread neglect in hiring protocols.

With the exposure of over 100 minors employed under hazardous conditions, the Department of Labor filed a suit against PSSI. Despite their initial stance of strict compliance and vigorous self-defense, PSSI settled the lawsuit, acknowledging the findings without disputing them, and paid a fine. The company has since claimed adherence to improved practices and has fired several managers, but the issue raised significant concerns about worker exploitation, systemic failure in oversight, and the desperate socio-economic conditions driving illegal child labor.

Main takeaways from the video:

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Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. outlawed [ˈaʊtˌlɔːd] - (verb) - To make something illegal or prohibited by law. - Synonyms: (banned, prohibited, forbidden)

85 years ago, the United States outlawed child abuse in Sweatshop labor.

2. scourge [skɜːrdʒ] - (noun) - A person or thing that causes great trouble or suffering. - Synonyms: (plague, curse, menace)

...in Sweatshop labor, a scourge that Franklin Roosevelt called this ancient atrocity.

3. revelation [ˌrɛvəˈleɪʃən] - (noun) - A surprising and previously unknown fact, especially one that is made known in a dramatic way. - Synonyms: (disclosure, announcement, epiphany)

She says they found nine children at work, a revelation that triggered a national audit of PSSI.

4. audit [ˈɔdɪt] - (noun) - An official inspection of an organization's accounts, typically by an independent body. - Synonyms: (inspection, examination, review)

...a revelation that triggered a national audit of PSSI.

5. prohibition [ˌproʊəˈbɪʃən] - (noun) - The action of forbidding something, especially by law. - Synonyms: (ban, interdiction, veto)

PSSI has an absolute, company wide prohibition against hiring minors.

6. clerical error [ˈklɛrɪkəl ˈɛroʊr] - (noun) - A mistake made in the office or administrative work, typically involving typing or writing. - Synonyms: (typing mistake, recording error, administrative mistake)

There's no way that this was just a mistake, a clerical error, a handful of rogue individuals getting through this was the standard operating procedure.

7. systemic [sɪˈstɛmɪk] - (adjective) - Relating to a system, especially as opposed to a particular part. - Synonyms: (structural, comprehensive, widespread)

This was a systemic problem that was happening at PSSI.

8. diligence [ˈdɪlɪdʒəns] - (noun) - Careful and persistent work or effort. - Synonyms: (carefulness, thoroughness, attentiveness)

Blackstone told us extensive pre investment due diligence showed PSSI had industry leading hiring, compliance.

9. vigorously [ˈvɪɡərəsli] - (adverb) - In a way that involves physical strength, effort, or energy; strenuously. - Synonyms: (energetically, forcefully, strongly)

We will defend ourselves vigorously against these claims.

10. dubious [ˈduːbiəs] - (adjective) - Hesitating or doubting; not to be relied upon or suspect. - Synonyms: (uncertain, questionable, suspicious)

And in the case of the children, e verify was especially dubious.

Slaughterhouse cleaning company employed children - How hiring went wrong - 60 Minutes

85 years ago, the United States outlawed child abuse in Sweatshop labor, a scourge that Franklin Roosevelt called this ancient atrocity. So it was a shock in 2022 to learn that an american company owned by a Wall street firm sent children as young as 13 to work in slaughterhouses. The disgrace was more disturbing because the company, PSSI, is vital to national food safety, and its owner, Blackstone, claims to be a model of management. Both companies say they had no idea they employed children in eight states. But it was obvious to teachers in Grand Island, Nebraska, who noticed acid burns on a child.

In our story, you will see only two photos of children working in a slaughterhouse because of privacy. Two with obscured faces are all the US Department of Labor would give us, but 2 may be enough. Their hard hats read, PSSI for Packers Sanitation Services, Inc. The nation's leading slaughterhouse cleaning service, with 15,000 workers in 432 plants taking in more than a billion dollars a year. Not, it seemed, a likely abuser of children. It seemed possible, but not necessarily likely. And if it were possible, you know, maybe it was someone who'd slipped through the cracks.

Shannon Rabelledo is a 17 year Labor Department investigator who was skeptical. But she went to Grand Island, Nebraska, last summer after a middle school told police about acid burns on the hand and knee of a 14 year old girl. The student explained that she worked nights in this slaughterhouse on the edge of town. What did the educators at Walnut middle school tell you? It seemed to be known within the community that minors either are or were working overnight shifts. They told us about children that were falling asleep in class that had burns, chemical burns. They were concerned for the safety of the kids. They were concerned that they weren't able to stay awake and do their job, which is learning in school, because they'd been up all night, right up all night at the JBS slaughterhouse, an immense plant that produces 5% of the beef.

In America, JBS can butcher 6000 cows a day here. But each night the plant was turned over to PSsi for cleaning. From eleven to 07:00 a.m., Shannon Rayboyedo staked out the parking lot as JBS left and PSSI came in. And you really noted the difference in the appearance of these workers that were coming to work this late night shift. What do you mean? They were little. They looked young. She believed children were washing bloody floors and razor sharp machines with scalding water and powerful chemicals. So Raybouleto returned with a team and a search warrant.

She says they found nine children at work, a revelation that triggered a national audit of PSSI. And what did you find? That this was the standard operating procedure, that there were minors employed across the country between the ages of 13 and 17 working the overnight shift. This was not a mistake. There's no way that this was just a mistake, a clerical error, a handful of rogue individuals getting through this was the standard operating procedure. How many miners did you identify? We were able to identify and confirm 102 miners at 13 different plants in eight different states. Do you believe that 102 is the full extent? Not at all. I believe that the number is likely much higher.

Last November, the Department of labor filed suit against PSSI. The company responded with, PSSI has an absolute, company wide prohibition against hiring minors. It added. We will defend ourselves vigorously against these claims. The statement said PSSI checks eligibility of employees, including this girl, on a federal database. But that database is well known to be abused. In an industry that can struggle to find workers, the jobs are grim and dangerous, and so they are often filled by immigrants who are desperate for work.

Some immigrants use false papers to routinely beat the federal identification system that is known as e. The employers have known for nearly 30 years that e verify is useless if the applicant has bought, borrowed or stolen an actual id, which is common. And in the case of the children, e verify was especially dubious. These weren't close calls. In some cases, there were 13 year olds working and they were identified by PSSI as being in their thirties. Just it's not possible.

In its statement when the suit was filed, PSSI said, in addition to e verify, it has industry leading best in class procedures, including extensive training, document verification, biometrics and multiple layers of audits. The system that they use automatically flags whether or not someone has certified that they are 18 or not. And what we found in our review was that it was regularly ignored if someone didn't certify that they were 18.

Did any of the children tell you how long they had been working at the plant? Yes. And how long was that? We looked back at a three year period, so we can confirm that they had miners working there as early as 2019. Four weeks after its vow to vigorously defend itself, PSSI settled with the government. It did not dispute the finding that it hired children. PSSI promised not to do so in the future and agreed to regular audits. The company paid the maximum fine of $1.5 million, which was about 1% of its cash on hand.

The settlement ended the suit, but it did not answer the question why the children's pay was the same as adults. So why hire kids? Jessica Lima gave us insight into this question and into the desperation of the workers people. I know we need money to survive, to pay bills, to pay rent. But for me, it's not. We just need. We just need a job. Lima worked for PSSI as an adult in another plant. She told us it was obvious some coworkers were children. They have the age from like my kids are right now. They should be in school. They know should be there for us like adults. It's hard. You can imagine. For our children. It's not easy.

Do you believe that the supervisors at PSSI knew that these were children that they were hiring? They know, but they don't say nothing because just need the people to get the job done. People to get the job done. Jessica Lima told us turnover of workers was high in the tough overnight jobs. But there was never a let up in the pressure to get the slaughterhouses open by dawn in Grand island, many are at fault. In county court, two parents have been convicted of child abuse or endangerment for sending kids to the plant. A mother was sentenced to 60 days.

There's a lot of blame. And in this audio recording, a stepfather is being sentenced to 30 days by Judge Arthur Wetzel. Obviously, the company that employed this young lady has substantial blame. Forcing young children to work on a kill floor at a beef packing plant, taking false identification that the young lady was 22 years of age when in fact, she was 14. There's blame to be passed upon the mother who obtained the false documents so her child could work. Also, the elephant in the room, JBS, is at blame for hiring a cleaning company such as this to conduct their affairs in their plant. Parents purchased false identities. Children were coached to lie. But it was up to PSSI to ensure its operations didn't create a market for child labor.

In its defense, a top PSSI official told us off camera, we own this. We know we made some mistakes. It's inexcusable. PSSI now says it has fired more than three dozen local managers. The sheer nature, the systemic failures. I've never seen systemic failures like this. The violations across the board at all of these different locations. I've never seen something like that. For all the years the investigation found child labor, PSSI has been owned by Wall Street's Blackstone, the largest private equity firm in the world.

Blackstone told us extensive pre investment due diligence showed PSSI had industry leading hiring, compliance. But it seems that diligence failed to find what was obvious to investigators watching a shift change in a parking lot. Still, the investment giant says a claim of insufficient diligence or oversight is simply false. And yet 102 children labored at 13 slaughterhouses in eight states. We're really, really outraged and concerned that this is happening in the country today. Jessica Lumen heads the Labor Department's wage in our division in charge of enforcement. In your view, is this billionaires making profits off the sweat of children?

This was a systemic problem that was happening at PSSI, and we have to think about what this means for our communities, what this means for our economy. And what we at the Department of Labor and across this administration are adamant about is that we will never rebuild our economy on the backs of children. Sounds like the 19th century. This is happening in 2022, 2023, that we have kids working in meatpacking factories and we should all be outraged. Hard to imagine the callousness that is required. It makes us all question, what's going wrong? Neither Blackstone nor PSSI would make a corporate officer available for an on camera interview. PSSI offered an attorney hired after the Labor Department filed suit, but he had no firsthand knowledge of the hiring of children.

Today, PSSI has a new CEO. It pledges to, among other things, spend $10 million on the welfare of children in Grand island. The slaughterhouse owner, JBS, told us it didn't know children worked in its plant. JBS and other meatpackers have fired PSSI at more than two dozen sites. PSSI told us we are 100% committed to enforcing our absolute prohibition against hiring children. As for the child workers in Grand island, privacy laws prevent officials from telling as much. But we do know one child is in foster care and others are with their parents. You know, I wonder, after speaking to these children, after exposing what was happening to them, what is your hope for them now? I hope that they're safe. I hope that they have an opportunity to be kids, to go to school and not be tired. And if they're working, I hope that they're able to work in a safe environment.

Child Labor, Corporate Responsibility, Investigation, Economics, Leadership, Business, 60 Minutes