Hyundai parts supplier accused of child labour violations

A Korean-owned auto parts maker and supplier of Hyundai Motors was accused of violating child labour laws by the US Department of Labour, according to Reuters. According to the court filings accessed by Reuters, the SL Alabama LLC company was employing underage workers in Alexander City. 

The DOJ told the judge at the US District Court for the Middle District of Alabama that SL Alabama has been violating the regulations since last year as they employed “minors under the age of 16”. In a six-page report, the DOJ further said that the company was guilty of "employing oppressive child labour". 

The court filing did not include the number of underage employees working in the company. 

While the company did admit to flouting child labour regulations, the statement released by SL Alabama said that the labour was hired by an outside recruitment agency who were not named. 

"We fully cooperated with the investigation by the Department of Labour, and we are in the process of complementing our verification system so that minors will not work going forward," it said. 

This was the second instance where a company in Alabama was accused of similar malpractices as another Hyundai subsidiary SMART Alabama LLC was also found guilty of employing children. 

Hyundai released a statement on Monday criticising the two affiliates for their actions and made it clear that "it does not tolerate illegal employment practices in any Hyundai entity”. "We have policies and procedures in place that require compliance with all local, state, and federal laws," the statement read.