US Labor Department sues Hyundai, suppliers in Alabama over alleged child employment

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Labor wants a federal judge to prevent Hyundai and two other Alabama companies from what the government contends is the illegal employment of children.

The complaint filed Thursday follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found a 13-year-old worked between 50 and 60 hours a week operating machines on an assembly line that formed sheet metal into auto body parts.

The defendants include Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama LLC, SMART Alabama LLC and Best Practice Service, LLC. The lawsuit said it seeks to end the use of child labor and require that the companies give up profits linked to the alleged practice.

Hyundai said in a statement that it cooperated fully with the Labor Department and that it is unfair to be held accountable for the practices of its suppliers.

“We are reviewing the new lawsuit and intend to vigorously defend the company,” the statement said.

A representative with Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama LLC released this statement to Action 8 News:

“The use of child labor, and breach of any labor law, is not consistent with the standards and values we hold ourselves to as a company. We worked over many months to thoroughly investigate this issue and took immediate and extensive remedial measures. We presented all of this information to the U.S. Department of Labor in an effort to resolve the matter, even while detailing the reasons why no legal basis existed to impose liability under the circumstances. Unfortunately, the Labor Department is seeking to apply an unprecedented legal theory that would unfairly hold Hyundai accountable for the actions of its suppliers and set a concerning precedent for other automotive companies and manufacturers. We are reviewing the new lawsuit and intend to vigorously defend the company.

Hyundai’s facilities, including Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA) are committed to ensuring all of our own facilities comply fully with local, state, and federal laws. We have rigorous policies and procedures in place to maintain compliance with applicable laws and high standards of ethical conduct.

After we learned of the alleged supplier violations, we took immediate actions. At our request, the suppliers involved terminated their relationships with the third-party staffing agencies even though those agencies had certified that they had screened and cleared individuals as being of legal age. In addition, we completed an investigation and a broader review of our U.S. supplier network.

We implemented new, more stringent workforce standards throughout our supply chain following the investigation. We have required our Alabama suppliers to conduct independently verified audits of their operations and to implement any recommended actions. This intervention will enable them to better identify and address any issues while they continue to provide jobs that support local communities. Additional and further audits will be deployed as needed to ensure best practices and recommendations are followed. We also introduced a compliance training program in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Labor for suppliers on a variety of employment subjects.”

(Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)