JASPER, AL – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment in federal court against an Alabama poultry processor requiring them to pay $385,000 in civil money penalties for federal child labor law violations and barring the employer from any future child labor violations.
The agreement comes after the department’s Wage and Hour Division found Mar-Jac Poultry AL LLC violated several of the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, including illegally employing minors, some as young as 13 years old. The employer permitted other minors to perform activities deemed hazardous and forbidden under federal law, such as operating a forklift, deboning and eviscerating poultry, and working on the kill floor.
Investigators also discovered that Mar-Jac employed workers between 14 and 15 years old in occupations prohibited by child labor regulations. In addition, Mar-Jac employed workers between the ages of 14 and 15 to work outside of legally allowed hours, many on overnight shifts between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. These findings resulted in the employer agreeing to pay $385,000 in civil money penalties.
“Mar-Jac Poultry has repeatedly been found to put young workers at risk, resulting in the tragic death of a child at their Mississippi facility in 2023,” said Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Juan Coria in Atlanta. “The U.S. Department of Labor will use all enforcement tools available to protect young workers and hold employers accountable if they repeatedly violate workers’ rights.”
The consent judgment, entered on May 21, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, requires Mar-Jac Poultry AL LLC to do the following:
- Prevent children from working in any prohibited or hazardous occupations and prohibit hiring workers under 14 years old.
- Require new workers to meet with shift managers in person before their first day of work.
- Ensure hazardous equipment is properly marked with any age restrictions.
- Place signs at facility entrances to indicate that workers must be at least 18 years old.
- Keep a record for each worker detailing wages, hours, and other conditions of work, and include date of birth for all employees under 19 years of age.
- Hire a third-party compliance specialist for three years to monitor compliance with federal child labor laws; give quarterly child labor compliance training to all managers; and provide annual reports summarizing actions taken to comply with federal child labor laws.
- Update management training programs, training materials, and onboarding materials to include information regarding FLSA compliance.
- Impose disciplinary sanctions against management for child labor violations or retaliation against any employee that reports suspected child labor violations.
- Permit the Wage and Hour Division to enter its facilities during any shift without a warrant and produce requested documents within 72 hours without requiring a subpoena, for a period of three years.
The department previously investigated Mar-Jac after a 16-year-old worker was fatally caught in a machine while cleaning it. An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division in 2023 found that Mar-Jac employed three 14- and 15-year-olds in prohibited occupations and had them work longer than legally allowed. Four minor-aged workers were also allowed to operate power-driven meat-processing machines and were involved in slaughtering as well as meat and poultry packing. As a result of these findings, Mar-Jac was assessed $150,000 in civil money penalties.
“This resolution again affirms the U.S. Department of Labor’s efforts to protect our nation’s youth,” explained Regional Solicitor Tremelle Howard in Atlanta. “We will not tolerate employers such as Mar-Jac Poultry that repeatedly permit our nation’s young workers to perform work that has long been defined as hazardous.”
Headquartered in Gainesville, Georgia, Mar-Jac Poultry has performed poultry production since 1954 at facilities in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi for food service customers in the U.S. and abroad.
The Department of Labor’s YouthRules initiative promotes positive and safe work experiences for teens by providing information about protections for young workers to youth, parents, employers, and educators. Through this initiative, the department and its partners promote work experiences that help prepare young workers to enter the workforce. The Wage and Hour Division has also published Seven Child Labor Best Practice for Employers to help employers comply with the law.
Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division and the Fair Labor Standards Act’s child labor provisions. Employers and workers can call the division with questions and requests for compliance assistance through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download the agency’s free Timesheet App for iPhone and Android devices to track hours and pay.
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