Downers Grove-based Hearthside Food Solutions on Friday resolved an Illinois child labor investigation after a Texas bankruptcy judge approved a settlement between the company and the Illinois Department of Labor and Attorney General. He ended up paying $4.5 million.
In 2023, Illinois authorities opened a child labor investigation into Hearthside, which was named in a major New York Times investigation into migrant child labor. A separate national survey by the U.S. Department of Labor was still starting last month.
Because Hearthside filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Texas in November (a move the company argued was not primarily motivated by child labor allegations), the settlement agreement would have to go into effect before a bankruptcy judge could file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Texas. approval was required.
In a statement when the parties first reached a settlement agreement late last year, Attorney General’s spokeswoman Annie Thompson said, “Children belong in classrooms, not manufacturing facilities.” .
“We are committed to reaching a settlement with Hearthside Food Solutions that protects minors from exploitation and holds the company accountable for any practices that violate Illinois labor law. “We’re doing it,” Thompson said.
Hearthside did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement and continues to deny the child labor allegations. The company has previously said the allegations are “primarily related” to third-party staffing agencies, and has already taken steps to reduce its reliance on temporary workers hired from such agencies. He said he was taking lessons.
“Hearthside looks forward to leaving the challenges of the past behind and moving the company into the future on solid footing, positioning the business for sustained growth,” Hearthside said in a December statement. Ta.
Up to half of the $4.5 million settlement will be reserved for people who say they worked at Hearthside in Illinois when they were under 16 and can provide documentation to support their claims.
The agreement also requires Hearthside to comply with additional state oversight over the two-year term of the agreement. For example, the company must agree to submit to state audits and establish an anonymous hotline for employees to report suspected child labor violations.
Approval of the agreement comes days after an update to Illinois’ child labor law went into effect on Jan. 1, which increases penalties for violators of the law, among other things. The move was also made in some other states, including neighboring Iowa. It is moving to weaken its own child labor laws.
First Published: January 3, 2025 at 3:58 PM CST
