$1.5M is 1% of cash on hand? That fine wasn't even a slap on the wrist. The punishment DOES NOT fit the crime.

A $1.1M fine for a multi-billion $ company is laughable. Corporations need accountability. The cap on fines needs to be raised to reflect % of revenues. Disgusting.

That $1.5 million fine should go to the kids that were working in the factories

This is what happens when companies do not want to pay livable wages, health insurance and retirement.

The bigger problem is why these kids and families feel needed to go these measures. We are failing as a society when we act blind to these stories.

Stealing someone’s childhood is one of the most heinous crimes possible, like a slaughter house is any place for a child.

I never understood why the Govt gets the settlement money. The 1.5 million should be divided up between the kids who worked in the plant. Thats around 14k per kid. Put it in a trust fund they can have full access to when they turn 18.

What's especially tragic is that this business would have continued using abusive child labor practices up until they were caught. I find it disgusting.

And now we know why some states have passed bills to let minors work. The power of money seems to have no end.

What’s really sad is this company would have kept going with the illegal child labor and abuse until they got busted. Sickening if u ask me.

102 minors, they knew what they were doing!! 😡

To say that they didn't know is the best indictment of all. That's what every guilty party says when they have no defense. For common people, ignorance is not an allowable defense.

If the punishment is a fine, then the punishment is just for poor people. A fine means nothing to a big company.

As a former packinghouse worker and workers' rights advocate, this does not surprise me.

Change or enforce the laws so actual managers or owners can go to jail for child abuse. The Legislature could help.

I just read this year 8 bills were introduced to weaken child labor restrictions in the midwest - Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas and South Dakota. This is crazy! Upton Sinclairs' book "The Jungle" is as relevant today as ever!

The company and supervisors also need some actual jail time. It’s not fair they get to buy their way out of punishment when the parents are in jail. The parents who were clearly poor and desperate enough to do this. Absolutely ridiculous how punishment is different based on income in this country.

We’re supposed to believe the feds didn’t know this has been going on. The supervisor didn’t know little kids were on the job? Come on man!

Better hold those managers and supervisors responsible. They hired those kids and im sure they were interviewed for the job.

I hope the kids sue and lawyers set aside money for college and medical expenses.

Private Equity firms are always at the base of this type employee abuse.

I'm 100% sure someone at JBS knew that children were working in their plants

Thank you to the teacher at the middle school for saying something!!! You saved all those children!! I hope they are prosecuted!!!

This been going on for years all these major factories have been doing this i was hired at 12yrs old at a fish plant to clean over night in arkansas but we were so poor we needed the money this country drives us to this point!!!

pssi owner blackstone, largest private equity firm in the world, says "extensive pre-investment due diligence showed pssi had industry-leading hiring compliance". so in other words, the practice of hiring little kids to work all night in slaughterhouses across america is the BEST this industry does to follow the laws.

Shameful…sinful that billionaires are using HUMANS like this! The punishment is an insult to all of us.

I felt sick hearing him read their plea agreement stating they "agreed not to do it again"🤯🤬

This is absolutely unacceptable. If our system cannot protect our citizens, our children, our life, then we need a new system. Human rights above corporate profits; reality above corporate greed

Crazy how much power corporations have especially with lobbying, they can legally cut operating costs at the cost of the consumer

Feel bad for the kids and the kids families ❤️💯 all they want is a better life nobody gives them, heart breaking

They had to go out and buy over 100 kid sized hard hats & eye protection... That should have been a sign they were doing something wrong.

8 states?! How is this possible in 2022? Due diligence? Just looking at a piece of paper and not really hiring investigators for this? This company needs to be taken down

And now everything old is new again like 1900 labor laws.

It all about cheap labor! It not about hard work, but pay and profits.

This is terrible and inexcusable in this society. I feel for the children and parents who feel the need to send them to work. I had a job when I was 14 working in a Chinese restaurant getting paid under the table. I didn’t know it was wrong but I did make good money for a kid. I can not imagine working overnight as these children are. I am hopeful that this story will help these children.

I started working at 13 as a dishwasher,I bought any thing I wanted.thanks for not saving me.

And the governor of Arkansas Sara Huckster Huckabee recently passed a law that allows child labor in her state.

Really you're telling me they didn't have no interviews too see for themselves who were they hiring come on they knew and still hired the kids

I feel like the settlement of 1.5 million dollars isn’t nearly enough. The maximum should be raised because that’s like nothing to these companies

I was from a extremely poor family and also got my first job at 13 years old. This was in the late 70's and the money I was able to earn helped our family. While unfortunate I totally understand why these parents allowed there children to work. Life is not always fair but to condemn people without knowing the situation also is unfair.

Gotta love how they were able to just pay their way out of it. A demonstration of USA ethics.

When they start putting these people in jail this will stop. Fines result in higher prices and doesn't affect companies at all.

Completely heartbreaking. That poor woman who broke down during the interview. We need to do better.

Can you imagine how desperate you have to be have your children work at slaughterhouses? The parents are just as responsible

My husband is from Grand Island Nebraska. He worked in the slaughterhouse during his Summer break. His job was to cleaned the blood from the slaughters. The employers seek out teenagers and immigrants. They corporations know this and it’s been going on since the 80’s. luckily, my husband left the job because it was a tough job. Watching pigs and cows getting killed got to him. He wasn’t able to eat meat for quite a few years.

You know what fixes this problem? Paying the parents a comfortable living wage. SOLVED

Who are these monsters hiring children, then robbing them of their paychecks? Animals

FYI: The video forgot to mention information like this Several states allow minors as young as 12 years old to work in certain types of agricultural jobs. These states include: Arkansas Georgia Iowa Louisiana Minnesota Missouri North Dakota South Dakota Texas Wisconsin There are several states that allow minors as young as 13 years old to work in certain types of jobs, but the specific rules and regulations can vary by state and by the type of work being performed. Here are a few examples: Alaska: Minors as young as 13 can work in most jobs with the consent of a parent or guardian and a work permit. Arizona: Minors as young as 14 can work in non-hazardous jobs with a work permit. However, minors as young as 12 can work in agricultural jobs with a work permit and parental consent. Georgia: Minors as young as 12 can work in certain types of agricultural jobs with parental consent and a work permit. Iowa: Minors as young as 14 can work in non-hazardous jobs with parental consent and a work permit. However, minors as young as 12 can work in agricultural jobs with parental consent and a work permit. Kentucky: Minors as young as 14 can work in most jobs with parental consent and a work permit. However, minors as young as 12 can work in agricultural jobs with parental consent and a work permit. North Carolina: Minors as young as 14 can work in most jobs with parental consent and a work permit. However, minors as young as 12 can work in agricultural jobs with parental consent and a work permit. Wisconsin: Minors as young as 14 can work in most jobs with a work permit. However, minors as young as 12 can work in certain types of agricultural jobs with parental consent and a work permit. It's important to note that these are just a few examples, and the specific rules and regulations can vary by state and by the type of work being performed. If you have specific questions about the employment of minors in your state, you should consult your state's labor department or department of education for more information.

America! Where we care more about a little fetus than a beautiful living and breathing child

Corporate greed smh

The parents of those children need to be thrown in jail.

The only concern from the government and companies is they got caught...Merica Where we don't ask what's behind the curtain just make sure the job is done and the investors are happy.

We really need to just fine a company a percentage of their reported profits. In this instance about 60% of all offending parties profits would suffice. Gotta make examples so it never happens abain

I don’t get how the reporter can say that it comes to a shock that companies owned by Wall Street has participated in child labor. When couple states in the Midwest have legalize child laborers in jobs that should not have children working and or around?

This is very sad that families are so hard up in America that they send their kids to work overnight to clean slaughterhouses with acids

Nothing ever happen to big corporations and the powerful in the US!

The government should also share the bulk of responsibility. Labor inspections have significantly declined over the years and recent decades due to reduced funding, thanks to tax cuts, misallocations of resources, revolving door, business lobbying, and big money in politics to rig the rule of the game in their favor. This is just a tip of the iceberg of what's wrong with this country. Everyone should also be aware of a different age standard for farm work in which 12 years old can legally perform non-hazardous tasks outside school hours with parental permission. Younger children can work if it's a "small" farm or it's a farm owned by parents. Due to lack of enforcement, the reality is worse. For example, look for a video, "Harvest of Justice 2022: Child Labor In Agriculture".

These kids didn't drive themselves to the slaughter house willingly opened the door and apply. Oh I guess the parents didn't notice the empty beds at night. Blame goes all around. Pathetic.

PSSI doesn't have an HR department? Payroll company? Even tiny businesses have to get legal ID, DOB, and social security numbers. Were they even paying taxes? I don't see how.

my dad worked for pssi in fort worth Texas 5 years ago, and the manager of the plant paid less then what they actually make , and he wanted them to pay for clothes, boots, gloves, and more

We DO need to put some blame on the parents, which seems to be overlooked time and time again.

😮 scary as heck. The fact the CHILDREN are doing this. Insane. Im so glad some of the parents are held accountable as well.

These children should be compensated, taken to therapy, and should be going to school. Of course the parents get blamed which they should, but the company should be fined and given a final warning. This is unacceptable in the United States. PSSI needs to take more accountability. Blackstone needs to take accountability. This is just one company...imagine how many more are doing the same. 😢

The company should be in deeper trouble than this.

This is sickening. Charles Dickens probably thought he had warned us against such cruelty.

How did a 14 year old show up for work and everyone is just like ok, lets do this...

This is what deregulation and dismantling of gov oversight agencies looks like. Btw what was the hourly wage for this type of work?

$1.5m is literally the equivalent of cleaning out Pennies in the couch to this company 😂

And remember that some states are trying to make this legal

When I was 14 I got my first job, but I had to apply for my workers permit first with the department of labor. My employer had to fill out the permit and I had to return the form the part meant. I retained a copy and gave a copy to my employer. I couldn’t work before 8am or past 8pm. I was limited to 25 hours a week until 16. When I turned 16 I couldn’t work past 12am and limited to 35 hours a week but other than that no permit was required. Then obviously once turning 18 no restrictions. I’m confused as to what would have changed? This was only 20 years ago… by the way, I didn’t hide the fact I was 14 or 16.

It's like some people think "ahhh the children...... they long for the mines." WTF is wrong with people. A lemonade stand. Babysitting. Mowing grass. That's what's appropriate for these kids to be doing if they want to get started young.

when I was 12 years old I worked at a meat packing plant 10 hours a day. I was happy to have my own money and a job. and I had to mow the lawns and do yard work around the house and do chores to ,and I was happy to help out my mom and dad. nothing wrong with a kid workin hard if he our she wants to.

Too little regulation and too many people willing to ignore rules. That is always how this happens.

How is this a shock????

What sad is that these companies are still opened

Night shift at a slaughterhouse is a little extreme don’t you think. I’m 20 and I’m not old enough to work there yet

why were the parents allowing this?

We can stop this by not staffing companies to hire temporary workers.

Great show

Shame on this company and on the parents of these children. Both should be charged a high penalty!

Bless those teachers. They saved the day.

The penalties need to be at least 60 percent of the company's profits.

Using kids to do your dirty work is disgusting.

Come to Arkansas if you want your child to work early. The Governor, Sarah Sanders, just rolled back child labor protection laws.

First of all the largest investment firm is BlackRock, Blackstone is a completely different investment firm. Also the larger question we need to ask is why the kids felt the need to work? Because life is too expensive because PSSI was paying the same rate so it wasn't cheaper labor. We as a country need to figure out how to give livable wages to families. Also on a side note i too did work at a factory at 13-17 in the summers for extra spending money.

That lil girl was 14, working 3rd shift, and still going to school! She doing better than some 40 year olds I know.

People also driver semi trucks at night without a CDL. I’m in the trucking industry and have met a few illegal drivers.

Blaming the parents is BS, hold the company accountable.

It makes me wonder about the quality of the food that they are producing! If they can not fill the space with adults, how is that meat being treated and processed!!!???🤨🤨🤨

So NOBODY in this town ever went to the cops, the press ??? Oh my Heavens.

Nobody wants to talk about the parent’s responsibility in this?

YOU NEED TO INVESTIGATE CARGILL ALSO. ESPECIALLY, THE PLANTS IN DODGE CITY, KS, NE, & TX.

Age of ignorance 😠😫

This certainly begs the question of what other industries, what other companies/corporations are doing the same? This cannot be limited to PSSI. 😔😔😔

Where are the company supervisor? They should be held accountable.

Haha.. companies will do anything but pay workers what the market demands.

These companies know the fines are nothing in the grand scheme. They do it because they know it’s lucrative. We are failing as a society to protect the most vulnerable and we will suffer unimaginable consequences for this.

I worked for this company for 7 years and work with plenty of teens

It was like they single handily made a new generation of crime scene cleanup crew or qualified serial killers 🤦🏼‍♀️

The real question is why did those kids have to work there in the first place?