A Southern California poultry processor illegally employed children as young as 14 to debone meat with sharp knives and move pallets with electric lifts, the Department of Labor said.
The poultry processor, which supplies grocery stores such as Ralphs and Aldi, must pay nearly $3.8 million in fines and back wages after an investigation found the company employed children as young as 14 in jobs. dangerous, retaliating against workers who cooperated with investigators and refusing to pay. overtime wages, the agency said.
The Department of Labor alleged that Exclusive Poultry Inc. and other companies owned by Tony Elvis Bran employed children who used sharp knives to debone poultry, operated electric lifts to move pallets, and worked longer hours than allowed under child labor laws.
According to the agency, the company also allegedly cut the salaries of workers who cooperated with investigators and did not pay them adequate overtime.
“Exclusive Poultry and its owner, Tony Bran, intentionally withheld workers' hard-earned wages, endangered young workers, and retaliated against employees to cover up their wrongdoings,” said Jessica Looman, administrator of the company. Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor, which investigated and litigated the complaint.
When reached by phone, Bran said he did not know if he was allowed to speak about the case and had to ask his attorney if he could comment.
The Labor Department said its investigation included two poultry plants in City of Industry and La Puente controlled by Bran, and that he created “shell companies” to employ workers at these plants. Those company names are Meza Poultry, Valtierra Poultry, Sullon Poultry Inc. and Nollus's Poultry.
Bran, the companies and the owners of the listed shell companies are now subject to a consent judgment that prevents them from violating labor laws, including paying workers less than the minimum wage, paying improper overtime costs and allowing that children under 16 years of age work too many hours.
Companies are also prohibited from shipping poultry produced in violation of labor laws governing minimum wage, overtime pay, and child labor, or from any location where Department of Labor investigators have detected child labor.
Bran and Exclusive Poultry will also be monitored for three years to ensure compliance, and workers who were laid off from the plants after the investigators' visit will get preferential hiring for any vacant positions, the Labor Department said.
The company supplied Ralphs, Aldi, Grocery Outlet and Sysco, among other companies, according to the Department of Labor.
Grocery Outlet said it has never used Exclusive Poultry as a supplier, nor has it used any of the other companies associated with the Department of Labor investigation.
Sysco said the findings of the Labor Department's investigation into Exclusive Poultry represent “serious violations of legal and regulatory requirements and are inconsistent with the ethical standards outlined in Sysco's Supplier Code of Conduct.” The food distributor said it was “evaluating the situation” and would take “appropriate corrective action” to ensure its suppliers adhere to the company's standards for labor and food safety.
Aldi said it has never used Exclusive Poultry as a supplier and that the company has “strict processes” for identifying suppliers to ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
Ralphs owner Kroger did not respond to a request for comment.
