Mississippi teen’s death in poultry plant shows child labor remains a problem, feds say

— The death of a 16-year-old in a Mississippi poultry plant earlier this month offered another reminder that children remain vulnerable to exploitation in the workplace in the United States, senior Labor Department officials said Wednesday. The Labor Department’s Wage and Hours Division, which enforces child labor laws, is investigating the employers of all three child workers who died this summer. Senior Labor Department officials on Wednesday touted the results of their expanded enforcement efforts, saying the department has completed 765 child labor investigations and identified 4,474 children employed in violation of federal child labor laws since the current fiscal year began on Oct. 1. “Duvan’s tragic story is unfortunately too common, and too many kids like him are continuing to work in inappropriate settings across the country in direct violation of our child labor laws.” Teen employment rates typically peak in July, according to federal labor statistics, when many students are working summer jobs.