Last year, a Hyundai supplier in Alabama accused of using child labor. And then other. In December, that number has increased to four. Those signs were enough to get investigators to start digging, and now the results of those investigations are starting to come to light. Wide strokes? Hyundai’s labor suppliers appear to have a long history of using children for manual work.
In case you lost it:
Reuters has the full story, detailing an investigation into Hyundai’s logistics operations in Alabama. Inspectors made an unannounced visit to Hyundai Glovis and discovered a 16-year-old boy had applied to a human resources agency with a fake ID – and had been doing so for years.
Identity consists of two parts, a Tennessee ID and a social security card. According to Reuters, the tags “doesn’t seem legit from afar” — the font is wrong and the person being photographed clearly does not look like the kid working in the warehouse. College students around the country learned the details of getting a fake ID through their local liquor store – Does it scan? — but it seems the knowledge has yet to reach Hyundai’s third-party “employers.”
Each relevant personnel agency was fined $5,050, according to Reuters, which seems humorously low for the offense of making children do hard work in a warehouse. Apparently that is the state’s maximum penalty for child labor in Alabama, which raises the question of whether higher penalties will prevent this trend from continuing as it is. But who knows? Many states are working to fully legalize child labormaybe Hyundai is simply leaning on the movement that’s making its way to Alabama.
