DOL filed lawsuit against Mar-Jac on May 7, 2024 for employing underage labor
Minors had been on payroll for multiple months and worked in deboning and carcass cutting
Six minors identified as undocumented employees at Mar-Jac Poultry in Jasper, AL
Six minors were identified as employees at Mar-Jac Poultry processing facility in Jasper, Alabama by the US Department of Labor on May 1, 2024. The six underage workers had been on the company's payroll for multiple months and were employed in deboning poultry and cutting carcasses. According to court documents, Mar-Jac's attorneys claim that the minors used forged documents to pass through the company's hiring system and were terminated once their real ages were discovered. However, DOL's lawyers argue that this is not enough to absolve Mar-Jac of responsibility for employing underage labor.
The poultry producer's violation of child labor laws resulted in a civil action lawsuit being filed by the DOL against Mar-Jac on May 7, 2024. The lawsuit aims to stop production and sale of all goods produced with child labor through May 31 and prevent the shipment of
A poultry plant in Jasper, Alabama, has been accused of hiring minors and could be shut down for 30 days according to a US Department of Labor lawsuit.
Mar-Jac Poultry, the largest employer in Walker county, is accused of violating federal labor laws by hiring four minors as young as 16.
The labor department is asking a judge to shut the plant down for 30 days based on statutes that prohibit companies from profiting from child labor.
Six teenagers were working in the Jasper chicken plant for months using forged documents after passing the E-Verify system.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(30%)
The article contains selective reporting as the author only reports on the allegations of child labor violations at Mar-Jac Poultry without mentioning that six teenagers were working with forged documents and passed the E-Verify system. The author also fails to disclose that these teenagers were not working around slaughtering machinery, but in chicken-hanging and wing-removal areas which is not prohibited by federal regulations. Additionally, the article sensationalizes the situation by implying that Mar-Jac is directly responsible for the death of a 16-year-old employee in Mississippi and another teen's death at a plant in Hattiesburg, without providing any evidence to support this claim.
Six teenagers were working in the Jasper chicken plant for months using forged documents after passing the E-Verify system...
A poultry plant in Jasper, Alabama, has been accused of hiring minors and could be shut down for 30 days...
But on Friday, another teen was killed while operating equipment at a Mar-Jac plant neat Hattiesburg, Mississippi...
Fallacies
(80%)
The author makes an appeal to authority when quoting the Meat Institute president stating 'meat and poultry production facilities are no place for children.' This is a valid fallacy as it does not prove or disprove the allegations made against Mar-Jac. The author also uses inflammatory rhetoric by stating 'Another teen was killed' without providing context or details about the incident, making it unclear if it is related to Mar-Jac or not.
]The meat and poultry production facilities are no place for children[
Another teen was killed
Bias
(95%)
The author expresses a clear bias against Mar-Jac Poultry by repeatedly mentioning their past labor violations and the deaths of minors on their premises. The author also uses language that depicts Mar-Jac as being unconcerned with the wellbeing of minors, despite their claims to the contrary.
A poultry plant in Jasper, Alabama, has been accused of hiring minors and could be shut down for 30 days...
But on Friday, another teen was killed while operating equipment at a Mar-Jac plant neat Hattiesburg, Mississippi...
The company is arguing that if it is shut down it would be forced to lay off more than 1,000 workers for that period and slaughter millions of chickens and bury them in landfills.
Federal investigators found six underage workers at a large poultry plant in north Alabama and asked a judge to stop the sale of chicken produced with child labor.
Mar Jac Poultry received fines of over $200,000 after a 16-year-old worker died while cleaning machinery in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Debbie Berkowitz, an expert on worker safety in poultry plants, said child labor became a significant issue during the COVID-19 pandemic when plants lost many employees.
Accuracy
The number of underage workers found in the plant.
The length of time the underage workers had been employed.
The areas of the plant where the underage workers were working.
Deception
(5%)
The article reports on the discovery of underage workers at a poultry plant and the subsequent legal action taken by the Department of Labor to halt sales of chicken produced with child labor. The author does not make any editorializing or pontification statements, but there are instances of selective reporting and sensationalism. The article focuses on the number of underage workers found and the potential impact on employees if a temporary pause in sales is enforced, while downplaying the seriousness of child labor laws being violated. It also mentions that this is not the first time Mar Jac Poultry has faced penalties for labor violations, but does not provide any context or details about these previous incidents. The article also quotes an expert on worker safety in poultry plants who expresses concern about the increase in child labor cases during the COVID pandemic and the need for tougher penalties, but this information is not directly related to the case at hand.
But the Labor Department announced last year it would use the ‘hot goods’ provision to prevent companies from profiting from child labor.
It’s not the first time Mar Jac has faced penalties for labor violations.
The move is unprecedented and would create undue hardship for more than 1,000 workers at Mar Jac Poultry, the largest employer in Walker County.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several informal fallacies and an appeal to authority. The author uses inflammatory rhetoric by describing the discovery of child labor as 'oppressive' and the company's actions as 'thumbing their nose at the law'. The author also quotes Debbie Berkowitz, an expert on worker safety in poultry plants, who makes a statement that could be considered an appeal to authority when she says 'That this is how this company does business.' However, no formal fallacies were found.
]The children had been working at the facility for months,
Mar-Jac Poultry in Jasper is accused of employing underage workers.
Six teenagers were working in the Jasper chicken plant for months using forged documents after passing the e-verify system.
Accuracy
The company argues that shutting them down could negatively impact over 1,000 workers and require the destruction of millions of chickens.
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains an appeal to authority fallacy and a dichotomous depiction of the situation. The appeal to authority comes from quoting the Fair Labor Standards Act and the US Department of Labor without providing any counterargument or analysis. The dichotomous depiction is seen in the presentation of Mar-Jac's argument as an either-or scenario: either they are shut down, or they continue operating and risk profiting off child labor. This oversimplifies a potentially more nuanced situation.
. Attorneys for the Department of Labor are asking a judge to shut them down for 30 days.
The injunction keeps companies from profiting off of child labor, based on the fair labor standards act.
Mar-Jac is also arguing if they are shut down it could have a negative impact on the more than 1,000 workers that have jobs there and would have to be laid off for those 30 days and require the destruction of millions of chickens placing them in landfills.
Six minors were identified as employees at Mar-Jac Poultry processing facility in Jasper, Alabama by the US Department of Labor on May 1, 2024.
The six minors had been on the company’s payroll for multiple months and were employed in deboning poultry and cutting carcasses.
Mar-Jac’s attorneys claim that the minors used forged documents to pass through the company’s hiring system and were terminated once their real ages were discovered.
A civil action lawsuit was filed by DOL against Mar-Jac on May 7, 2024, to stop production and sale of all goods produced with child labor through May 31.
Mar-Jac’s lawyers argue that the civil action is unnecessary and would cause substantial amounts of work for other employees, as they would be forced to destroy all poultry meat involved in the incident.
