Smithfield Foods, one of the nation’s largest meat processors, has agreed to pay $2 million to resolve allegations of child labor violations at a plant in Minnesota, officials announced Thursday. An investigation by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry found that the Smithfield Packaged Meats subsidiary employed at least 11 children at its plant in St.

Smithfield Packaged Meats Corporation has agreed to pay a $2 million penalty over allegations of child labor violations at its facility in St. James. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) says it has entered into a consent order with Smithfield that requires the company to pay the largest penalty DLI has recovered in a child labor enforcement action.