Following a revelation from Reuters that some juveniles, maybe as young as 12, had been working at the company as recently as early this year, the Hyundai supplier SMART Alabama LLC is under inspection and facing criticism.

Back in February, when a young immigrant girl from Guatemala who wasn’t quite 14 years old vanished from her home in Enterprise, Alabama, many people began to have doubts about the recruiting procedures at SMART.

Police learned that she and her brothers, aged 12 and 15, had been working at the facility instead of going to school throughout their inquiries into her disappearance. Pedro Tzi, their father, also stated that his children had previously worked for SMART.

Reporters contacted other SMART workers and residents of the neighborhood after this information became public to confirm the claims made about the Tzi youngsters and to learn whether SMART had hired any additional minors to work at the facility.

Many of the staff members acknowledged that there had been juveniles working with SMART, though none could state with certainty how many. Their projections vary from 12 to 50.

The majority of the employees interviewed insisted on keeping anonymous, but one, 39-year-old Tabatha Moultry, talked on the record and said that a former employee’s daughter seemed to be 11 or 12 years old.

The accusations have been vigorously refuted by SMART and Hyundai.

In a statement, Hyundai emphasized that all Hyundai entities do not accept illegal employment practices and that standards and processes are in place to ensure adherence to all local, state, and federal laws.

In a different statement, SMART indicated it rejects any claims that it intentionally hired anyone who was not qualified for work.

After being discovered safe, the little Tzi girl was handed back to her family. Now that school has started for the fall, all three of the Tzi children are enrolled.