Labor Department Slaps Sawmill Operator

U.S. Dept. of Labor obtained a federal consent order and judgment against a Northern sawmill operator following the death of a child due to an “industrial accident.” The order requires the company to place labels and signage to prevent children under age 18 from using dangerous equipment and entering the company’s sawmill and planer buildings. The company has agreed not to hire anyone under the age of 16 and if the company hires anyone between the ages of 16 and 18 in the future, the company must strictly comply with the requirements for apprentices or student learners and inform the department before hiring them.

The action follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division into a 16-year-old worker’s death at the sawmill, which led to the department invoking the “hot goods” provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The division opened the investigation after the teenager suffered severe injuries in June and died two days later.

In September, in a U.S. District Court, the company agreed to, and was ordered by the court, to comply with, federal child labor regulations now and in the future.

“This tragic case illustrates just how vital and urgent it is that the Department of Labor uses every tool at our disposal to combat child labor,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. “Any death of a child is too many. That’s why our Wage and Hour Division and Solicitor’s Office took immediate steps to prevent the sale of ‘hot goods’ and to hold the company accountable for allowing children to perform hazardous and, in this case, deadly jobs. Illegal child labor is a stain on this country and will not be tolerated by this administration or this department.”

In February the department announced the creation of an Interagency Task Force to Combat Child Labor Exploitation to better align federal efforts to protect children from exploitative situations in the workplace. Led by the department, the task force includes the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Justice and State to improve cross-training, outreach, education and health outcomes of children that could be subject to child labor. The administration is using a whole-of-government approach to tackle the issue of child labor abuse and root it out of the country.

In addition to learning of the 16-year-old worker’s death, the division’s investigation found the following:

—Three children, ages 15 to 16, suffered injuries in November 2021, July 2022 and March 2023. One child suffered injuries on two separate occasions.

—The mill company employed nine children, ages 14 to 17, to illegally operate machinery, such as a chop saw, rip saw and other automated machines, which federal law considers hazardous occupations for workers under 18.

—The company employed seven children, ages 14 and 15 years old, to work outside legally permitted hours.

“(The company) risked the life of a child by allowing him to operate dangerous equipment in violation of federal child labor laws, and now family, friends and co-workers are left to grieve,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “The Solicitor’s office will use all legal tools available to combat child labor, including placing pressure on supply chains to hold their suppliers accountable.

“This case underscores the importance and urgency of the administration’s interagency work to combat child labor exploitation. The department’s use of legal tactics in this and other cases like invoking hot goods is one important piece of the puzzle when it comes to rooting out child labor.”

The Fair Labor Standards Act forbids any producer, manufacturer or dealer from shipping or delivering for shipment in interstate commerce hot goods removed from the producing establishment in the 30 days after a child labor violation. Prohibition on shipping hot goods is not limited to employers who initially produce products with child labor. Rather it also applies to any producer, manufacturer or dealer who later receives them.

During its investigation, the division also alerted two of the sawmill’s customers that they possessed goods subject to the hot goods provision. Both customers agreed voluntarily to refrain from shipping or delivering for shipment in interstate commerce the hot goods they received until the legal matter was resolved.

The day after the teen’s death, the mill company terminated all employees under age 18 at its facility, and later verified to the court that no one under the age of 18 is now employed by the company. After the company agreed to pay $190,696 in civil money penalties to resolve its child labor violations and the court executed the order and judgment, the department lifted its objection to shipment of the goods.

In accepting the court’s judgment, the mill company also agreed to the following conditions to prevent future violations of the FLSA’s child labor provisions:

—Placing signage to warn children not to enter the sawmill and planer buildings at its locations.

—Using the division’s Youth Employment Compliance Assistance Toolkit to identify materials for use in training employees, provided in a language understood by workers, and maintaining training logs.

—Auditing machinery and labeling machines with stickers warning that workers must be 18 years of age or older to operate legally.

—Providing employees with fact sheets on child labor.

In fiscal year 2022, division investigators identified child labor violations in 835 cases and assessed employers with more than $4.3 million in penalties.