The Labor Division on Thursday sued Hyundai over using baby labor in Alabama, holding the automotive producer accountable for the employment of youngsters in its provide chain, together with a 13-year-old woman who labored as much as 60 hours per week making automotive components.

Within the go well with, filed in a federal courtroom in Montgomery, Ala., the division mentioned Hyundai was accountable for the employment of youngsters at a Sensible Alabama manufacturing unit in Luverne, Ala., which produces components like physique panels which might be shipped to a Hyundai manufacturing unit in Montgomery. The go well with additionally claimed a staffing company, Finest Follow Service, recruited the youngsters to work on the provider’s plant.

In an announcement, Hyundai mentioned baby labor was “not according to the requirements and values we maintain ourselves to as an organization.” It added that the Labor Division used “an unprecedented authorized principle that may unfairly maintain Hyundai accountable for the actions of its suppliers.”

Sensible didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. Representatives of Finest Follow Service, which is now not in enterprise, couldn’t be reached for remark.

From July 2021 to February 2022, a 13-year-old woman labored on the Sensible plant, the place she was recruited to work by Finest Follow Service, the go well with claimed. The go well with additionally contended that two different kids have been employed on the plant.

The Labor Division mentioned that by means of the employment of youngsters at its provider, Hyundai was in violation of the “scorching items” provision of the Honest Labor Requirements Act, which prevents the interstate commerce of products “that have been produced in violation of the minimal wage, extra time or baby labor provisions” of that legislation.

“Firms can not escape legal responsibility by blaming suppliers or staffing corporations for baby labor violations when they’re in truth additionally employers themselves,” mentioned Seema Nanda, the Labor Division’s chief authorized officer, in an announcement Thursday.

The go well with comes after investigations by Reuters and The New York Instances documented using baby labor by the suppliers of automotive corporations. In 2022, Reuters discovered that Sensible Alabama had used baby labor at its facility, and that Kia, which is a part of the identical South Korean conglomerate as Hyundai, had additionally used baby labor within the South. A 2023 investigation by The Instances discovered kids employed on the suppliers of Common Motors and Ford Motor.

Hyundai imports lots of its autos from South Korea however has made large investments in factories within the South, spending practically $8 billion on an electrical automobile plant in Georgia. The United Car Employees union has mentioned it hopes to prepare employees at Hyundai’s Montgomery plant.