Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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BALTIMORE, Md. -- The U.S. Department of Labor has fined TopMulch, Inc., of Brookeville, Md., for alleged violations of the youth employment provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), following an investigation into the death of a minor employed by the company. The fatality occurred when the worker fell into a mulch-spreading truck while performing landscaping work at a residential property in Potomac, Md.

The department's Wage and Hour Division fined TopMulch, Inc., a landscaping company that provides mulching and other lawn services to residential and commercial customers and government entities, $22,000, the maximum amount allowed under the law.

The investigation found that the 15-year-old minor was employed as a landscape laborer during school hours when school was in session and worked each day from 6:00 a.m. until approximately 4:00 p.m. The minor's job involved operating a power-driven mulch spreader attached to a motor vehicle.

"By law, the minor should not have been working during school hours or operating the power-driven mulch spreader," said Corlis Sellers, administrator of the Wage and Hour northeast region. "This tragic accident could have been avoided had the company followed the law."

Under federal provisions, 15-year-old workers cannot operate power-driven machinery, drive a motor vehicle or serve as a helper on a motor vehicle.

Hours are also restricted for workers under age 16. Fourteen and 15-year-olds may work outside school hours, but not before 7 a.m., and not later then 7 p.m. (9 p.m. from June 1 until Labor Day). They may not work more than three hours on a school day nor more than 18 hours in a school week. They may work up to eight hours on a non-school day and 40 hours in a non-school week.

In May 2002, Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao launched YouthRules!, a public awareness campaign to educate young workers, parents and employers about the jobs that young people can perform and hours they can work. Information about the campaign and the youth employment provisions are available on the Internet at http://youthrules.dol.gov. For additional information about the FLSA provisions, call the Department of Labor's toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE or visit www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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