U.S. Accuses Hyundai Supplier of Violating Child Labor Laws at Alabama Factory

The U.S. Labor Department on Monday accused a South Korean-owned company that supplies parts to Hyundai Motor Company of violating child labor laws at its factory in Alexander City, Alabama.

The factory is operated by SL Alabama LLC, a subsidiary of South Korea’s SL Corp. The Alabama plant makes components such as headlights and taillights for Hyundai and Kia vehicles.

According to the Labor Department, SL Alabama used “oppressive child labor” practices by employing “minors under the age of 16” at the plant. The company admitted to Reuters that children worked at the plant, but said they were hired by an unnamed labor recruitment firm.

Only a few weeks ago, Reuters reported on child labor at another Alabama plant in Hyundai’s supply chain. 

In that case, a metal stamping plant owned by a subsidiary of Hyundai called SMART Alabama LLC was accused of employing workers as young as 12, including three children from the same family of Guatemalan migrants. Alabama law stipulates that employees of such facilities must be at least 18 years old.

Reuters could not determine the total number of underage employees at the factory, which had a history of health and safety issues. According to whistleblowers, dozens of children worked there, and some of them were not enrolled in school.

Hyundai insisted in an email to Reuters that it “does not tolerate illegal employment practices” in its supply chain and specifically forbids child labor among its subsidiaries and subscribers. Critics quoted in Reuters’ July story about the SMART Alabama Plant said Hyundai has big expansion plans in the U.S. but is having a hard time finding enough workers, so it has turned to recruitment firms that hire migrant workers without vetting the employees thoroughly.

A spokeswoman for the Alabama Department of Labor told the Washington Post in July that under state child labor laws, underage workers hired by a recruiting company would be considered employees of the plant where they worked, not the job service that hired them.