A Tennessee sawmill operator will pay more than $73,000 in penalties and turn over $10,000 in profits for violating child labor laws.
The announcement comes after a Department of Labor investigation found that Plateau Sawmill, a company with about nine employees, had tasked two children as young as 14 with unloading wooden boards from a conveyor belt. This violated Fair Labor Standards Act provisions that prohibit minors under 18 from operating such equipment.
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The company also violated the act’s minimum age standard by employing a 13-year-old. Wage and Hour Division investigators discovered that the three children started shifts as early as 6 a.m., which is one hour earlier than legally allowed.
As …