A Morristown, Tennessee manufacturer of outdoor power equipment has signed a federal consent judgment to follow the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The judgment includes $296,951 in civil money penalties. Tuff Torq Corp. must also set aside $1.5M as disgorgement that will be used for the benefit of the illegally employed children. Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda said, “This sends a clear message: putting children in harm’s way in the workplace is not only illegal, but also comes with significant financial consequences.” Here are the details.
Children working in dangerous environment
The Department of Labor began an investigation several months ago into Tuff Torq Corp.’s employment of children. They found a child operating a power-driven hoisting apparatus, which is prohibited for workers under the age of 18. So far, the DOL has identified 10 children that were subjected to oppressive child labor. Oppressive child labor is usually defined as the employment of a child under the age of 16 in any occupation (this excludes children employed on farms owned or operated by their parents). The DOL also prevented Tuff Turq Corp. from shipping certain goods from their plant, under the “hot goods” provisions of the FLSA. Manufacturers cannot benefit from using oppressive child labor. Under the consent judgment, Tuff Turq Corp. will also:
- Provide regular training to staff, managers and contractors.
- Implement an anonymous tip line for employees to report suspected FLSA violations.
- Allow the DOL to make unannounced and warrantless searches of its facility for the next three years.
The DOL hopes that holding Tuff Turq Corp. accountable with financial penalties and the other provisions will prevent future violations.
Child labor is a serious issue globally, but also in the United States
World Vision estimates that almost 10% of children worldwide, worked in child labor in 2020. Nearly half of those are working in hazardous conditions. About one-third of children in child labor do not attend school. Although most child labor occurs in Sub-Saharan Africa and Central and South Asia, the United States contributes to the issue. According to the DOL, it investigated 955 cases of child labor violations in 2023. This involved 5,792+ individual children, which included 500 of them working in hazardous occupation standards.
For more information about child labor provisions under the FSLA, contact the Department of Labor. Both employers and employees can get confidential assistance on compliance. The agency’s toll-free helpline (866-4US-WAGE) can speak with callers in over 200 different languages.
Dawn Brotherton is a Sr. Staff Writer at The American Genius with an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Central Oklahoma. She is an experienced business writer with over 10 years of experience in SEO and content creation. Since 2017, she has earned $60K+ in grant writing for a local community center, which assists disadvantaged adults in the area.
