Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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BIRMINGHAM, ALA. -- The U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division has recovered $3,244 in back wages for employees of Hill’s Food Center Inc. A $10,560 civil money penalty was also assessed against the Pleasant Grove, Ala., grocery store for violating the youth employment provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Following a review of records from January 2002 to January 2005, Wage and Hour investigators determined that employees under the age of 18 operated hazardous machinery and employees under the age of 16 worked longer hours than allowed by the FLSA.

“A job can help youth develop valuable skills, but the jobs they perform must not jeopardize their health or safety,” said Oliver Peebles, III, the Wage and Hour assistant district director in Birmingham. “Limiting the hours young people can work enables them to gain work experience without impacting the quality of their school work.”

Peebles added, “Unfortunately, we are finding many young workers operating paper balers and cleaning and re-assembling meat cutting machines -- in violation of the Labor Secretary’s hazardous duty orders.”

Investigators also found that young workers and other Hill’s Food Center hourly-paid employees had not been paid for short break periods, resulting in minimum wage and overtime violations of the law.

The FLSA identifies jobs and industries deemed too hazardous for workers under 18 years of age. The Labor Department’s YouthRules! web site, www.youthrules.dol.gov, educates employers, young workers and parents about youth employment, the jobs they may perform and the hours they may work.

For further information about other requirements of the FLSA, call the department’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243), visit the department’s web site at www.wagehour.dol.gov, or contact the Birmingham district office at 955 22nd St. N., Suite 656; phone: (205) 731-1305.

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