Adkin Blue Ribbon Blueberry Co. is under scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Labor after investigators found children as young as six working in the fields.
Pending investigation, Wal-Mart, Meijer and Kroger have decided to suspend their business with the growers, which is located in South Haven, about 85 miles northeast of Chicago. Wal-Mart learned of the investigation from ABC News.
The company employs eight full-time workers and hires about 350 seasonal workers each year for the harvesting and processing of the blueberries it grows. It is the largest blueberry producer in the nation, with 110 million pounds harvested in 2008.
Tony Marr, general manager of Adkin, said the company has a written policy prohibiting young children from working in the fields. All adult employees sign a copy of the strongly-enforced policy and copies are kept on file at the company.
Marr explained that sometimes parents who have no access to child care bring their children to work with them.
"We certainly don't condone or promote child labor here in any way," he said.
Adkin was one of 35 randomly selected Michigan farms that were checked by the Department of Labor. As a result of the checks, eight farms were fined a total of $36,000 for violating child-labor and migrant-housing laws.
Adkin was the only farm that was cited for both child-labor and migrant-housing law violations. They paid more than $5,500 in penalties.
Ten other farms were cited for violations but not fined.
Labor law violations are a serious problem on farms that employ migrant workers, according to Thomas K. Thornburg, co-managing attorney of Farmworker Legal Services.
During inspections throughout the state, investigators found migrant workers living in unlicensed migrant labor camps. In the camps, faulty septic systems were seeping sewage near living units. Untreated water waste was spilling out of broken pipes, no hot water was available for hand-washing and there were infestations of rodents and bugs.
According to federal law, children under the age of 12 are prohibited from working on farms. Children who are 12 or 13 are permitted to work on farms as long as their jobs are nonhazardous during after-school hours. Those children must also work on a farm that employs their parents or have written parental consent.
Four children were found working on Adkin's farm during the July 8 unannounced visit. Two of the children were under 12, including the six-year-old.
In addition to the U.S. Department of Labor's investigation, Adkin is conducting its own investigation into the violations.
Written by Nicole Palmby
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