ACCOMAC, VA - Perdue Farms Inc. has agreed to pay $4M to address alleged child labor violations found during a federal investigation into their poultry processing facility in Accomack County.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s investigation began in 2023 after a bombshell New York Times article claimed numerous instances of migrant children working at the Accomac facility, some of them Arcadia High School students. In 2024, the Department of Labor filed a restraining order request against and ultimately fined a third-party janitorial company for employing children as young as 13 at slaughter at meat packing facilities including Perdue’s Accomac plant.
Perdue previously told WBOC they had severed ties with that janitorial company.
On January 15, 2025, the Department of Labor said their investigation revealed that Perdue Farms had also contracted with staffing company Staff Management Solutions LLC and SMX LLC (SMX) since as far back as 2020 to staff the Accomac Facility’s production-level jobs. Investigators say Perdue and SMX jointly employed children to debone and process chicken with dangerous equipment such as electric knives and a heat-sealing press. The Department of Labor also claims children were permitted to work past 7 p.m. during the school week.
These working conditions violated the child labor hazardous orders and hours provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to federal investigators.
Perdue has agreed to pay $4 million in restitution to the children, child labor advocacy organizations, and to support additional work to prevent child labor exploitation, the Department of Labor says. Perdue has also agreed to an additional $150,000 civil monetary penalty.
SMX has also agreed to a $125,000 civil penalty and to permanently ordered to cease child labor violations.
The Department of Labor says both Perdue and SMX have both agreed to enhanced compliance measures including the following:
Not hiring anyone under the age of 18 in certain locations.
Providing mandatory training on child labor for managers and employees.
Disciplining, up to termination, anyone who does not comply with federal child labor laws.
Not retaliating in any way against any of its employees, including family members or guardians of minor children, because an employee has filed any complaint or instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to the FLSA, or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding, or has served or is about to serve on an industry committee.
Establishing a designated tip line for employees to report compliance issues.
Increasing reporting regarding compliance.
In a statement sent to WBOC Wednesday, Perdue said the federal investigation did not identify any current underage employees at Perdue Farms. A spokesperson for Perdue said the company did not agree with the DOL's findings of liability but "recognized that a prolonged dispute with the Department of Labor did nothing to address the child labor crisis."
As part of the $4 million agreement, Perdue said $2 half of that would be used for a fund specifically for affected minors. The other half, according to Perdue spokesperson Andrea Staub, will be going to charitable organizations meant to assist unaccompanied minor children. The first of those organizations would be the Eastern Shore Community College and Kids in Need of Defense (KIND).
"Any instance of underaged workers in our facilities was without authorization and is unacceptable," Staub said. "Underage labor has no place in our business and our industry."
