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State finds child labor violations at Twelve Tribes cosmetic factory

Jun 06, 2018 7:15 am
Larry Rulison is reporting for the Times Union the state Labor Department found multiple violations of state child labor laws at the Common Sense Farm in Washington County after visiting the Twelve Tribes commune June 4, following an expose by the television show, "Inside Edition." The potential violations involved 12 minors and fines from the cases could reach tens of thousands of dollars. "Inside Edition" ran its report June 1, using hidden camera video to show underage children working at the Twelve Tribes cosmetics packaging factory in Cambridge. According to an Associated Press story, state officials are expanding their probe to eight other sites affiliated with the group. One of the sites is in Coxsackie. Twelve Tribes is a Christian religious sect that operates Common Sense Farm. Common Sense Farm packages cosmetics products like Acure and Savannah Bee that are sold by retailers like Whole Foods, Amazon, Target and Walmart. The group has come under suspicion for child labor violations in the past and is best known for its chain of cafes called the Yellow Deli that have locations in places like Oak Hill and Oneonta. Twelve Tribes did not respond to requests for comment. Read the full story in the Times Union.