Feds Sue Hyundai, Alleging 'Oppressive Child Labor' In Alabama Supply Chain

A 13-year-old worked up to 50-60 hours a week producing parts for Hyundai SUVs, according to labor officials.

The U.S. Labor Department on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Hyundai, accusing the auto manufacturer of “oppressive child labor” in its Alabama supply chain.

The complaint alleges that a 13-year-old worked up to 50-60 hours a week on the assembly line of a Hyundai supplier in the city of Luverne. The factory there produces parts, including body panels, that go onto SUVs built at Hyundai’s plant an hour away in Montgomery.

Officials say an unspecified number of other minors also worked at the supplier, Smart Alabama. Hyundai announced last year that it was divesting its ownership in Smart after Reuters published an investigation into child labor at the factory.

The children who worked at the Smart plant were hired by a staffing company, according to the complaint. But the Labor Department argues that Hyundai is ultimately responsible for any violations since the Smart facility “existed at ... [Hyundai’s] discretion.”

“Nearly all, if not the entirety, of the component parts that SMART manufactured during the relevant period were shipped to ... [Hyundai] in Montgomery, Alabama,” the lawsuit states. That facility produces the automaker’s Tucson and Santa Fe models.