Lawmakers call for Labor Department to ‘rid Hyundai’s supply chain of child labor’

A group of 33 lawmakers called on the Labor Department on Friday to “rid Hyundai’s supply chain of child labor” amid ongoing concerns that the carmaker is allegedly using suppliers that employ children.

“Clearly, there is a systemic effort within the Hyundai supply chain to recruit child labor from abroad, undermining workers in other parts of the U.S. auto industry. And it must be addressed immediately,” the lawmakers, led by Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), said in a letter to Labor Secretary Marty Walsh. The letter was first reported by Reuters.

After Reuters initially reported over the summer that a Hyundai subsidiary was employing children as young as 12 years old at an Alabama factory, a Department of Labor investigation found that another of the car company’s suppliers was using child labor and obtained a court order against the group, SL Alabama LLC, in October.

A follow-up report from Reuters in December found that Hyundai and Kia had used at least four Alabama suppliers that had employed children in recent years.

“According to reports, children are actively recruited from Central America and employed through third-party staffing agencies in an attempt to cover up these disturbing activities,” the lawmakers noted in their letter, adding, “This is shocking, disturbing and has no place in the U.S.”

Hyundai said in a statement that it was disappointed the letter did not acknowledge the “comprehensive actions we have taken in collaboration with the Department of Labor to address the allegations of underage workers at certain suppliers.”

“Hyundai is confident there are no current underage labor issues at our tier 1 suppliers,” the company said. “Consistent with the standards and values to which we hold ourselves as a company, we mandate that our suppliers and business partners strictly adhere to the law, and we remain vigilant in the oversight of our supply chain to ensure non-compliance never happens again.”

Updated 10:55 p.m.