Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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Kmart Corporation, headquartered in Troy, Michigan, was fined $33,600 by
the U.S. Labor Department for allowing underage workers to operate hazardous
equipment at three of its stores.
The department's Wage and Hour division found that 14 teens, ages 16 and
l7, were loading and operating cardboard paper balers at stores in Columbia,
Pa., Sanford, N.C. and Owensboro, Ky. In Pennsylvania, a teenager received a
minor injury to his hand while loading a baler. Investigators also found that a
17 year old in North Carolina had been operating a fork lift. The child labor
law, enforced by the Department of Labor, specifically prohibits anyone 17
years old or younger from operating paper balers or forklifts.
"It is disturbing whenever young people are discovered working under
hazardous circumstances, or when they are injured in the workplace," said U.S.
Secretary of Labor, Alexis M. Herman. "The department has been working with
Kmart in recent years to help prevent the illegal employment of children. These
violations demonstrate the need for employers to be ever vigilant in making
sure policies are reviewed and managers held accountable, to ensure that the
entire organization is in compliance with work safety and child labor
standards."
Kmart Corporation officials have committed to reinforcing their safety
program in the company's more than 2,100 stores nationwide, and they say they
will be reminding store managers to review safety manuals and to post warning
signs on dangerous machines. They also say that during the month of June all
store managers will receive video training on the safe employment of young
workers.
Kmart will participate in the Labor Department's upcoming "Work Safe
this Summer" campaign, as it did last year.
Child Labor regulations are issued under the Fair Labor Standards Act
(FLSA). The FLSA sets a minimum age of 18 for youth to work in any
non-agricultural occupations declared by the department to be hazardous or
detrimental to their health and well being.
Information on the FLSA and other laws is available from local Wage-Hour
offices, which are listed in most telephone directories under U.S. Government,
Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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