Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to properly identify the company that was fined.

KIELER, Wis. (KNWA/KFTA) — A food safety sanitation service used by Tyson Foods facilities has been penalized $1.5 million after an investigation found multiple minors were working in hazardous conditions and overnight shifts.

The investigation comes from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division which found Packers Sanitation Services Inc. employed minors to use caustic chemicals to clean razor-sharp saws, and other high-risk equipment at 13 meat processing facilities in eight states, including Tyson Foods.

According to the Department of Labor, at least 102 children – from 13 to 17 years of age – were found to be working in these occupations and working overnight shifts. The Tyson facilities involved were reportedly in Green Forest, Arkansas, and Goodlettsville, Tennessee.

Investigators also learned at least three minors suffered injuries while working for PSSI.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the department assessed PSSI $15,138 for each minor-aged employee who was employed in violation of the law. The amount is the maximum civil money penalty allowed by federal law. This equates to $90,828 for the Green Forest facility and $15,138 for the Goodlettsville facility.

According to the release, the division began the Packers Sanitation Services Inc. investigation in August 2022, and on Nov. 9, 2022, the Solicitor’s Office filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court of Nebraska based on evidence that the company, which provides cleaning services under contract to some of the nation’s largest meat and poultry producers, had employed at least 31 children, from 13 to 17 years of age, in hazardous occupations to clean dangerous powered equipment during overnight shifts.

PSSI paid $1.5 million overall in civil money penalties.

“The child labor violations in this case were systemic and reached across eight states, and clearly indicate a corporate-wide failure by Packers Sanitation Services at all levels,” explained Principal Deputy Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division Jessica Looman. “These children should never have been employed in meat packing plants and this can only happen when employers do not take responsibility to prevent child labor violations from occurring in the first place.”