By Daniel Wiessner

Jan 15 (Reuters) - 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 will pay $4 million in restitution and a $150,000 civil penalty to settle a investigation that found children at the Accomac, Virginia, plant used dangerous equipment including electric knives and a heat-sealing press and worked past 7 p.m. in violation of federal wage law, the agency said.

The staffing agency, Staff Management Solutions, agreed to pay a $125,000 civil penalty, the Labor Department said.

The Labor Department and other federal agencies in recent years have moved to crack down on the use of child labor amid reports that it has become rampant in some industries, including meat processing and auto manufacturing.

The agency said it had concluded 736 child labor cases last year involving more than 4,000 children and $15.1 million in penalties, nearly double the previous year.

Perdue spokeswoman Andrea Staub said the company fully cooperated with the department's investigation, which did not identify any current underage workers.

"While we strongly disagreed with DOL’s findings of liability, and there are no admissions in the agreement to the contrary, Perdue recognized that a prolonged dispute with the Department of Labor did nothing to address the child labor crisis," Staub said in an emailed statement.

Staff Management, known as SMX, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. DOL said that Perdue and SMX were "joint employers" of workers provided by SMX, making both companies liable for the alleged violations.

Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda in a statement said the settlement is significant because of Perdue's substantial influence in the poultry processing industry.

“There is no single enforcement action or lawsuit that will stop unlawful child labor, but strong enforcement coupled with companies willing to come to the table and take responsibility is vital," she said.

Along with the payouts, the Labor Department said Perdue and SMX had agreed not to hire anyone under the age of 18 in certain locations, to provide mandatory training on child labor, and establish dedicated tip lines for employees to report compliance issues, among other measures.

The department on Monday announced a separate $4 million agreement with meatpacker JBS that will be used to assist individuals and communities affected by unlawful child labor practices nationwide.

JBS was not accused of wrongdoing, but the Labor Department said the company contracted with third-party service providers who employed children in dangerous jobs at facilities in four states. JBS said it does not tolerate child labor and previously ended contracts with a company fined for hiring children.

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(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York)