An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor revealed that an employer at a distribution center in Hebron, Kentucky, is facing a $30,000 fine for employing children, ages 11 and 13, to perform tasks such as operating a forklift and fulfilling warehouse orders. This incident underscores a concerning trend of unlawful child labor practices across various industries, as per federal officials.
The minors were discovered to be illegally employed in August at the Win.IT America Inc. distribution center in Hebron. They had been working for several months, exceeding the legally allowed working hours for minors, according to the Department of Labor’s recent news release.
One child was assigned the role of a forklift operator, a job categorized as hazardous for workers under 18, while the other child was involved in picking up orders in the warehouse, a responsibility prohibited for those under 16, in violation of labor regulations.
This distribution center is part of a network of locations managed by Win.IT America, the U.S. arm of Win.IT Information Technology Co., headquartered in Shanghai, China. The company operates in multiple countries, including Austria, Germany, Great Britain, and the U.S., with over 700 employees globally.
The utilization of child labor in jobs deemed unsafe for minors contradicts U.S. labor laws. Federal regulators noted a disturbing 44% rise in instances of nearly 4,500 children found working in violation of federal child labor laws over the previous 10 months, reported in July by the DOL.
Juan Coria, the regional administrator based in Atlanta for the Wage and Hour Division, expressed commitment to addressing this concerning surge in child labor violations. He emphasized that employers have a responsibility to ensure that they do not unlawfully employ children.
In a separate instance last summer, the Department of Labor cited Win.IT America for systemic overtime violations. The warehouse operator and e-commerce distributor were found to owe more than $1 million in back wages to almost 1,000 workers in California and Kentucky, including the Hebron facility.
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