The Department of Labor and the State Department have opened investigations into the working conditions of several hundred students who were working at a Hershey factory for the summer. The students walked off the job last week in protest over poor working conditions and low pay. Students say that they were not paid enough to be able to see any parts of the country, and that the work was too strenuous. Hershey responded on Tuesday by offering educational events at company headquarters, and said that they had asked the contractor which operates the plant to give the students a week of paid vacation. The Departments said that they had opened investigations and will be looking into the students' complaints. Many of the students have returned to work.
See "U.S. Checks Conditions for Workers in Walkout", Julia Preston, The New York Times, August 24, 2011