The US Department of Labour on Monday accused a Korean-owned car parts maker and supplier of Hyundai of violating federal child labour laws at an Alabama factory, federal court filings reviewed by Reuters show.
The department said that SL Alabama, a subsidiary of South Korea's SL Corp, employed underage workers at its Alexander City, Alabama, factory, filings on Monday with the US District Court for the Middle District of Alabama showed.
Since last November, SL Alabama “repeatedly violated” labour regulations by “employing oppressive child labour” and “minors under the age of 16", the department said in a six-page complaint.
In a statement to Reuters, SL Alabama admitted children had worked at the plant, which makes headlights, rear lights and other components for companies including Hyundai and its Kia affiliate.
SL Alabama said the minors had been hired by an outside labour recruitment firm, which it did not identify.
The revelations come one month after Reuters reported the use of child labour at another Alabama car parts plant operated by Hyundai subsidiary Smart Alabama.
The Alabama Department of Labour at the time said it would co-ordinate with federal authorities to investigate practices at that plant.
The discovery of child workers at a second Hyundai supplier signals widening scrutiny of labour practices in the car maker's US supply chain. In an emailed statement late on Monday, Hyundai said “it does not tolerate illegal employment practices in any Hyundai entity”.
“We have policies and procedures in place that require compliance with all local, state, and federal laws,” it added.
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Along with the complaint against SL Alabama, a proposed settlement agreement between the government and the parts manufacturer was filed with the court.
Under the terms of that agreement, SL Alabama agreed to stop hiring minors, punish any managers aware of the use of underage employees and suspend any relationship with any recruiters who supply child workers.
The proposed agreement was signed on August 18 by lawyers from SL Alabama lawyer and the Department of Labour. It has not yet been signed by a judge.
The filings did not detail how many minors worked at SL Alabama or what type of jobs they performed. It is not clear whether the company or the labour contractors it works with face any fines or other penalties.
The Department of Labour did not respond to requests for comment.
In its statement to Reuters, SL Alabama said “we fully co-operated with the investigation by the Department of Labour and we are in the process of complementing our verification system so that minors will not work going forward”.
Both federal and Alabama law prohibit teenagers and children under the age of 16 from working in most industrial factory settings because they can be dangerous for them.
SL Alabama employs about 650 people at the Alabama facility, its website said. Parent company SL Corp also operates a factory in Tennessee and a research facility in Michigan.
Previous Reuters reporting has shown how some minors, often immigrants, can be hired for Alabama factory jobs through recruitment agencies.
Although staffing firms help fill industrial jobs nationwide, they have been criticised by labour advocates because they enable employers to outsource responsibility for vetting employees and their eligibility to work.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
'How To Build A Boat'
Jonathan Gornall, Simon & Schuster
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last 16, first leg
Ajax v Real Madrid, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
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SCHEDULE FOR SHOW COURTS
Centre Court - from 4pm (UAE time)
Angelique Kerber (1) v Irina Falconi
Martin Klizan v Novak Djokovic (2)
Alexandr Dolgopolov v Roger Federer (3)
Court One - from 4pm
Milos Raonic (6) v Jan-Lennard Struff
Karolina Pliskova (3) v Evgeniya Rodina
Dominic Thiem (8) v Vasek Pospisil
Court Two - from 2.30pm
Juan Martin Del Potro (29) v Thanasi Kokkinakis
Agnieszka Radwanska (9) v Jelena Jankovic
Jeremy Chardy v Tomas Berdych (11)
Ons Jabeur v Svetlana Kuznetsova (7)
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Western Clubs Champions League:
- Friday, Sep 8 - Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Bahrain
- Friday, Sep 15 – Kandy v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
- Friday, Sep 22 – Kandy v Bahrain
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
The biog
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Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
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Rating: 3.5/5
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Publisher: Konami
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Tamkeen's offering
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- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Price, base: Dh145,000
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged in-line four-cylinder engine
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More on animal trafficking
Haemoglobin disorders explained
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
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New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
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Brief scores:
Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)
Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15
Sindhis 104-1 (7.4 ov)
Watson 50 not out, Devcich 49
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
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