The U.S. Department of Labor Friday filed a federal court complaint alleging a Hyundai assembly plant and two Alabama suppliers illegally used oppressive child labor.
Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama LLC, SMART Alabama LLC and Best Practice Service, LLC jointly employed a 13-year-old girl who worked 50-60 hours a week on an assembly line in Luverne, Ala., for up to seven months, the Labor Department said.
"Instead of attending middle school, she worked on an assembly line making parts," the department said. "Those parts were shipped to Montgomery, Ala., where they ended up on vehicles that were ultimately sold to consumers throughout the country."
The department said the girl worked operating machines that formed sheet metal into auto body parts.
