US DOL Investigation Finds Tennessee Contractor Violated Youngster Labor Legal guidelines Associated to Teenage Employees Deadly Fall
US DOL investigation finds a Tennessee contractor violated child labor laws in connection with teenage fatal falls
- 05/26/21
- WorkersCompensation.com
Nashville, TN (WorkersCompensation.com) – A 16-year-old boy who was constructing roofs more than 11 stories above the ground on a hotel construction site climbed over a barrier on the roofline and attempted to jump on a powered hoist next to the building. The teenager missed the platform, slipped through a gap between the scaffolding and the building, and fell about 50 meters to his death.
An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor and Labor found that the teen’s employer, Stover and Sons Contractors Inc. – a contractor based in Madison – violated two dangerous employment orders of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s child labor provisions. The orders prohibit employers from allowing minors under the age of 18 to carry out roofing work or to operate or drive power-operated hoists. Further investigation revealed that the employer also violated child labor laws by allowing the boy, at the age of 15, to work more than 8 hours a day and more than 40 hours a week.
The department imposed a civil penalty of $ 122,364 on Stover and Sons under the Child Labor Enhanced Penalty Program. The program enables the department to impose fines of up to $ 59,413 for any child labor violation related to the death or serious injury of a worker under the age of 18 for violations that occurred on or before January 15, 2021.
“The death of every worker is a tragedy, but the unnecessary loss of a teenager is particularly difficult to understand. Child labor laws were put in place to protect children from being at risk in really dangerous working conditions, ”said Kenneth Stripling, acting district director of the Nashville, Tennessee wage and hour office. “The Payroll Department is determined to enforce child labor laws to keep young workers safe and to hold employers accountable for failing to comply with the law.”
An investigation by the Tennessee Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Department, which is responsible for the occupational safety portion of the case, led the agency to file a complaint with the employer. Stover and Sons are currently contesting penalties.
In addition to child labor violations, the Payroll Department also found that the employer did not pay employees overtime if they worked more than 40 hours in a work week, another FLSA violation. To address this issue, the employer paid 55 workers a wage arrears of $ 38,462.
Stover and Sons Contracting Inc. performs exterior stucco work and insulation on buildings in the Nashville area. The employer outsourced the work for the hotel project to Cortes Plastering, who provided the workers overseen by Stover and Sons.
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