Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley is investigating Tyson Foods for alleged illegal child labor, and is urging the federal government to do the same.

Hawley, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, says it will probe the charge made to his office by an anonymous whistleblower identified as a “former Tyson Foods employee who oversaw plant safety.”

“I have been contacted by a whistleblower who alleges that Tyson Foods used child workers at one of its processing plants – in likely violation of federal child labor law,” Hawley writes in a letter this week to Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

“I have opened an investigation in my Subcommittee. Given your role in enforcing federal labor law, I urge you to fully investigate these troubling allegations immediately. …

“The whistleblower, a former Tyson Foods employee who oversaw plant safety, alleges that they personally witnessed underage workers and also received multiple reports from hourly Tyson employees about child workers in the plant. According to the allegations, these child workers were employed by a third-party entity contracted by Tyson for work in the plant.”

Though Tyson has operations in Missouri, Hawley declined to reveal which plant may have used child labor, in order to protect the whistleblower.

“I better be careful in what I say about the whistleblower, only because I want to protect his identity,” Hawley told The Heartlander in an exclusive interview Thursday.

“I don’t even personally know who it is. And that’s because, as you might remember because you reported on this, we have a lot of whistleblowers come to us. We are in office they can trust – many whistleblowers from the Secret Service, from the FBI, from Homeland Security, and now from within Tyson. 

“This is someone who, with their own eyes, saw underage child labor in Tyson plants. And I think it’s safe to say that it bears directly on the situation in Missouri, which is this: Tyson shut down two plants in our state. They broke contract with hundreds of Missouri workers and farms. 

“And as it turns out, even as they were doing that, they were using child labor. 

“This is not just wrong – and it is wrong – it is illegal. So, I’ve asked the Department of Labor to go after these people, and I can tell you we will conduct our own investigation in the Senate.”

Were any of the children allegedly working at Tyson illegal immigrants?

“We have seen reports that that is the case,” Hawley said. “And in fact, the New York Times, of all outlets … did a comprehensive investigation finding illegal immigrant children who had been trafficked across the border and now were being used in child labor – child labor trafficking in Tyson plants. 

“So, I think we’ve got underage labor. We’ve got reports of illegal immigrant child labor. We’ve got reports of human trafficking. This is really serious – and on top of that, to have them at the same time throwing out of work Missouri workers and Missouri farmers – because why? Tyson would rather make a buck, save a buck, by hiring illegal immigrants, by using child labor. It’s very wrong.”

The Heartlander reached out to Tyson Foods for comment.

“We do not allow the employment of anyone under the age of 18 in any of our facilities, and we do not facilitate, excuse, or in any other way participate in the use of child labor by third parties,” a company spokesperson said in a written statement.

“We take the enforcement of all labor laws seriously, and we verify the age of all team members by fully participating in the federal government’s E-Verify and IMAGE programs. We also have multiple processes in place, including an anonymous ethics hotline, for all team members to report suspicious activity.”