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.

Perdue Farms Inc. has agreed to pay $4M to address alleged child labor violations found during a federal investigation into their poultry processing facility in Accomack County.

Perdue Farms and a staffing agency will pay more than $4 million to settle claims that they employed children in hazardous jobs at a chicken processing facility in Virginia, the U.S. Department of Labor said on Wednesday.

Perdue Farms will pay $4 million in restitution after a contractor company was accused of illegally hiring children to clean an Eastern Shore plant.

Perdue Farms and a staffing agency have reached agreements with the Labor Department over child labor violations found at the poultry giant’s Accomac, Virginia, facility.