A federal judge is recommending that a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit against Hyundai and two other companies over child labor practices proceed through the courts.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Doyle Tuesday denied motions that the lawsuit, filed last year, should be dismissed.

The U.S. Department of Labor last May brought the suit in federal court to compel Hyundai, an Alabama automotive supply plant and a temporary agency to “surrender profits” related to child labor in the state.

A complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Alabama’s Middle District said a 13-year-old worked under a false identity for up to 60 hours a week on an assembly line in Luverne operating machines that formed sheet metal into auto body parts.

And when federal investigators learned of the minor’s employment, the company, Smart Alabama, told another two employees not to return due to their “appearance and other physical characteristics, which suggested they were also underage,” according to court documents.

The court action was filed against Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Smart Alabama, which employed the teen, and Best Practice Service, the service that provided the worker to Smart Alabama, according to court documents.

In court filings, lawyers for the defendants argued that the acting labor secretary last year lacked legal standing to bring the suit, and that, as there were no children currently working for the companies, there was no danger of “hot goods” – items made in violation of child labor law – entering the marketplace.

However, Doyle wrote in his opinion that, although there was no evidence of ongoing violations, there was no mention of “any promises made or safeguards implemented by Defendants to ensure that child-labor law violations do not recur. Thus, under these circumstances, a real and immediate threat of future injury to underage workers and the public generally remains…” he wrote.

Doyle said there is no evidence Hyundai or the two other companies are violating child labor law currently, but that would be determined by a “fully developed factual record.” He also dismissed claims the labor secretary could not bring the suit.

Reuters originally reported in 2022 that children were employed at SMART Alabama, which supplied parts for Hyundai’s Montgomery plant since 2003.

Two suppliers, SL Alabama and SMART, have terminated their relationships with third-party staffing agencies which, the company said, falsely certified that they had screened and cleared children as being eligible to work.

Both SL Alabama and JK USA, an Opelika temporary employment agency, in 2023 paid fines from federal court and the Alabama Department of Labor.