Listen to this article Perdue Farms has agreed to pay $4 million in restitution to settle a federal investigation into alleged child labor violations at the company’s poultry processing plant on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

The poultry processor has reached an agreement with the Department of Labor, which alleged third-party use of minors.

U.S. chicken producer Perdue Farms will permanently shut a Monterey, Tennessee, processing plant on March 28, eliminating jobs for 433 employees, the company said on Friday. It is the latest loss for poultry workers, with Tyson Foods having shuttered six U.S. chicken plants since 2023 after struggling to match production with consumer demand.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has reached agreements with Perdue Farms Inc. and staffing agency SMX LLC to resolve child labor violations at a poultry processing facility in Accomac, Virginia.

The company and a staffing agency it contracted with will pay restitution costs after violations were found in its Accomac, Virginia processing facility.

Poultry processor Perdue Farms plans to close a processing plant in Monterey, Tenn., on March 28, resulting in 433 people being laid off.

Maryland-based Perdue Farms Inc. has agreed to pay $4 million to resolve a US Department of Labor probe into child labor violations at its poultry processing facility in Virginia, a rare move by the agency to hold a company accountable as a joint employer for labor violations committed by its subcontractors.

MONTEREY, Tenn. (AP) — Perdue Farms plans to close a processing plant in Tennessee that employs more than 430 people.

Learn more about the company's decision that came after a strategic business and financial review of the plant’s performance.

In a separate consent judgment entered in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Norfolk, Staff Management Solutions agreed to pay a $125,000 civil money penalty and to be permanently enjoined from future FLSA child labor violations in meat processing and packing industries.