North Carolina Sawmill Pays Back Wages and Penalty After U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Finds Child Labor and Wage Violations

RUTHERFORDTON, NC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has assessed D&M Logging Inc. a civil penalty of $9,112 for violating Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) child labor requirements after a minor suffered a hand injury while employed at the company’s sawmill in Rutherfordton, North Carolina. D&M Logging Inc. paid the civil money penalty. Additionally, D&M Logging Inc. paid $12,692 to 11 employees to correct the overtime violations.

WHD determined D&M Logging Inc. violated child labor requirements when the company instructed a 17-year-old employee to engage in hazardous duties by removing lumber from a conveyor belt of a milling machine in their sawmill, leading to the injury. Federal child labor requirements prohibit minors from working in logging and sawmills.

WHD investigators found D&M Logging Inc. paid employees straight time rates for all the hours that they worked, resulting in overtime violations when the company failed to pay employees time-and-one half when they worked beyond 40 hours in a work week. The company also failed to record the hours worked by the minor employee and to record overtime payments that they did make to one worker, both resulting in FLSA recordkeeping violations.

“Child labor laws exist to strike a balance between providing meaningful work experience for young people and keeping them safe on the job,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Richard Blaylock, in Raleigh, North Carolina. “Employers must recognize the importance of not permitting employees under the age of 18 to participate in prohibited work. We encourage all employers to review their employment obligations and to contact the Wage and Hour Division for compliance assistance.”

Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. For more information about the FLSA, child labor, and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool  to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by WHD.