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 Printer-Friendly Version
ESA-WHD New Release: [03/28/2000]
Contact Name: John M. Chavez
Phone Number: (617) 565-2075
Release Number: V-45
BETHEL, CONNECTICUT, EMPLOYER ASSESSED PENALTIES FOR FEDERAL CHILD LABOR LAW VIOLATIONS IN CONNECTION WITH THE DEATH OF A 16-YEAR-OLD WORKER
BOSTON, MA — The Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Labor Department's Employment Standards Administration has assessed civil money penalties totaling $10,925 against Bethel, Connecticut, businessman Peter T. Davis III, doing business as Davis Tree and Logging, in connection with the accidental death of a 16-year-old employee at his company earlier this month.
According to Dianne Miller, District Director of the Wage and Hour Division for Connecticut, on the morning of March 13, 2000, 16-year-old Randy Karl Mas was crushed under the wheels of a 74,000-pound "tub grinder," a large wood processing machine used by Davis Tree and Logging to grind up tree stumps and other large pieces of timber.
"The investigation showed," said Miller, "that Mas, who worked at the company on weekends and during school vacations, was attempting to help repair the brake system on the machine when the accident occurred. Tragically, the young worker was being employed by the company in violation of federal child labor regulations, which would have prevented him from operating or working on this type of equipment."
Miller noted that the investigation also revealed that the young worker had been employed by the company at least since he was 15 years of age. Consequently, Davis and the company were cited for: employment of a minor under the age of 16 in a prohibited occupation; failure to maintain the young worker's date of birth on file as required; and, most seriously, the employment of a minor under the age of 18 in a hazardous occupation.
"Had this employer complied with the Federal child labor laws, this horrible tragedy could have been averted," said Miller. She noted that the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) clearly spell out the hazardous occupations in which young workers under the age of 18 cannot be employed.
She also stressed that last summer, Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman launched the Department's "Safe Work/Safe Kids" initiative to help ensure teens have a safe and positive work experience. The initiative embraces a strategy of enhanced enforcement, increased education, strong partnerships and heightened public awareness to increase compliance with federal child labor laws.
"It is unfortunate" she said, "when the public's awareness of the need for workplace safety for our children is heightened by such a terrible accident. We in government, employers and the community should all redouble our efforts to make sure that another young life is not lost like this again."
Davis has 15 days from receipt of the civil money penalty assessment letter to file an exception with the Labor Department if he wishes to contest the findings of the Wage and Hour Division in this case. If he does so, the case would be assigned to an Administrative Law Judge for a formal hearing.
Passed in 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act -- also known as the federal wage and hour law -- today covers more than 110 million workers nationwide, explained Miller. The law, enforced by the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division, sets the federal minimum wage at $5.15 per hour and generally requires overtime for hours worked over 40 in any workweek. It specifically prohibits child labor abuse and requires employers to keep adequate time and payroll records.
The Federal child labor investigation in this case was conducted by the Wage and Hour Division district office in Hartford, Connecticut.
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