Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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ST. JOSEPH, Mich. -- The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division determined that Boulevard Inn and Bistro in St. Joseph owed 18 workers $8,018 in back wages for deductions that brought hourly pay to less than the federal minimum wage. The division also penalized the restaurant and hotel $7,500 for employing five minors in violation of federal youth employment provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The back wages finding resulted from deductions taken from workers’ paychecks for uniform shirts, keys and aprons. Boulevard Inn and Bistro already has paid the back wages.

The business also has paid the civil money penalties issued after investigators found that two 15- and three 16- year-olds were performing jobs – baking and using a vertical dough mixer – listed in Labor Department regulations as too hazardous for minors. The two 15-year-olds also worked later than regulations allow.

“Part-time jobs can provide teens with valuable experiences, but work that is inherently dangerous and should be performed only by experienced workers is not appropriate for young people,” said James Smith, director of the Wage and Hour Division’s Detroit District Office.

Most teens who work are employed by retail establishments, restaurants and supermarkets. Under federal regulations, roofing jobs; jobs operating paper balers, meat slicers, dough mixers and woodworking machines; and most driving jobs are designated as too dangerous for workers under the age of 18. Work hours also are restricted for workers under 16. During school months, work hours are limited to after 7 a.m. and before 7 p.m., with limits of three hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week. During the summer months, these teens may work eight hours a day, 40 hours during a workweek and until 9 p.m.

The Labor Department has developed a Web site, www.youthrules.dol.gov,to inform employers, young workers, educators and parents about youth employment, the jobs teens may perform and the hours they may work.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws the Wage and Hour Division administers, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free helpline at (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wahehour.dol.gov.

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