Penalties for illegal employment of child labor are negligible—Understanding the issue of immigrant child labor in the United States (2) – Xinhuanet
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Many well-known American companies such as Ford, Walmart, and General Motors or their supply chain companies have bad records of illegal employment of child labor. In 2022, two auto parts suppliers in Alabama, USA, were exposed for employing child labor. One of the metal stamping plants employed about 50 child workers, the youngest of whom was only 12 years old. In May this year, three McDonald’s franchisees were exposed to employ a total of 305 child workers in 62 restaurants, two of whom were only 10 years old.
According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor, in fiscal year 2022, 835 companies illegally employing child labor were investigated and punished in the United States, involving more than 3,800 child workers. Among them, 688 children were victims of dangerous jobs.
According to U.S. law, the maximum fine for illegal employment of a child laborer is $15,000. If a child worker is seriously injured or killed on the job, the maximum fine is less than $69,000.
Packaging Hygiene Services, a large company in the United States with an annual revenue of over US$450 million, illegally employed hundreds of child laborers in egregious circumstances, but was only fined approximately US$1.5 million, and no employee was held criminally responsible. McDonald’s franchisees who illegally employed 305 child workers were fined a total of only $212,500.
A coordinator of the American Child Labor Alliance commented that these fines amount to a paltry “a few cents” for a large company. (Video: Liu Zan; Appearance: Wu Baoshu; Copywriter: Zhao Hui, Meng Yifei, Sun Ding, Du Baiyu, Wu Hao, Zhu Yubo, Wu Baoshu; Editor: Chen Dan, Cheng Dayu, Danran)
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[Editor in charge: Zhang Ruoci, Zhang Xuye]
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2023-11-01 08:51:57
