“Our work will help prevent the next death or injury by ensuring Tuff Torq takes immediate and significant steps to stop the illegal employment of children,” said Jessica Looman, wage and hour division administrator at the Labor Department, in a statement.
Neither Tuff Torq nor its parent company, Yanmar Co., responded to a request for comment.
The $296,951 fine comes amid a wave of child labor violations across the country, with citations reaching levels not seen in nearly two decades. The federal government reported 5,792 minors working in violation of child labor laws in the year ending Sept. 30, 2023. The rising numbers are, in part, being driven by a historically tight labor market that’s led to shortages across several industries, as well as an immigration surge that has brought hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied minors into the United States.
The fines stem from a Labor Department investigation that began in late January, when federal investigators touring the Tuff Torq facilities observed a child operating a “power-driven hoisting apparatus,” according to the legal documents.
They objected to the shipment of goods out of the Morristown facility, citing the “hot goods” provision of federal labor law, which disallows the sale of goods produced with illegal labor.