NBC News is capping a yearlong investigation of U.S. child labor with the documentary “Slaughterhouse Children,” which includes new information on the death of Duvan Pérez.

A 16-year-old employee who died after getting sucked into equipment at a Mississippi poultry plant got the job using the identity of a 32-year-old man, a new revelation that highlights the ease with which migrant children are finding work in a dangerous industry, and the challenges companies face in trying to evaluate their true ages.

Duvan Pérez, who was hired to clean up at Mar-Jac Poultry in Hattiesburg, which supplies chicken to companies like Chick-fil-A, died on July 14. Within hours of his death, questions about his true age were raised by a local Facebook news site, and he was soon determined to be 16.

It’s illegal for minors to work in slaughterhouses, which the Occupational Safety and Health Administration considers among the most perilous workplaces in the country.

The number of children working illegally has skyrocketed across all industries, according to the Labor Department, nearly doubling since 2019. More than 800 child labor investigations in 47 states are ongoing across industries, according to the agency.

  • @boomzilla
    5•6 months ago

    I saw it in the evening news show of a main TV channel (Das Erste) here in germany that Gov. Huckabee of Arkansas introduced a law to roll back child labour laws, which seems a few other of the GOP reigned, god fearing states also like.

    Where several parts of Iowas new law are violating federal child labour laws (e.g. Hazardous Occupations Orders) and that’s why those states are under federal investigation.

    From Europe, I hope your gov keeps the promise of cracking down on migrant child labour in hazardous environment and other trends to return to pre-industrial times (e.g. caregivers who exploit the child labour) and offers those kids better possibilities. Those voters in Iowa, Nebraska and the likes are lost anyway.