The U.S. Department of Labor is reportedly investigating two seafood processors located in New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.A., for alleged child labor and other labor law violations.
The New Bedford Light reported a letter from the U.S. Labor Department said it is investigating Atlantic Red Crab and Sea Watch International, as well as two staffing agencies: Workforce Unlimited and B.J.’s Service Company that provide labor to companies in the region.
The New Beford Light also confirmed with a Labor Department spokesperson that the two seafood companies are subject to an investigation.
“The Wage and Hour Division is wholly committed to the strategic enforcement of worker protections focused on the nation’s most vulnerable workers,” the spokesperson told the publication. “Combating illegal child labor and enforcing the rights of workers employed in industries that pay low wages and have a history of high rates of violations are among our highest priorities. This includes seafood processing.”
A request for comment from SeafoodSource also received the same comment from a department spokesperson.
The investigation is the latest in a string of labor-related inquiries by federal officials into New Bedford's seafood-processing sector. In March 2023, Eastern Fisheries faced an investigation from the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for alleged unlawful terminations of employees.
That investigation stemmed from activism by Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores, a labor advocacy group that at the time was fighting the mass firing of 110 contracted workers at Eastern Fisheries' New Bedford facility. The company eventually offered to rehire all the affected workers, who it said were let go in a move to bring its employment in-house.
In June 2023, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it would be conducting random comprehensive safety inspections of New England seafood processors. Then, OSHA signed an agreement with Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores to improve workplace safety at seafood processors in New Bedford.
In September 2023, PBS and The Public’s Radio reported migrant teenagers, some as young as 14, who were found to be working for as long as 12 hours a day in seafood processing plants.
Atlantic Red Crab Owner Jon Williams told The Public’s Radio his company hired its employees through a staffing agency and that instances of underage workers, if discovered, are not tolerated.
“If that happened, I was totally unaware of it. And I will also say we wouldn’t support that type of thing,” he said.
Photo courtesy of Mark Van Scyoc/Shutterstock
