Immigrant children found working illegally at lawnmower company in Tennessee

A Tennessee manufacturer has been fined nearly $300,000 for employing children as young as 14 to operate “dangerous machinery” and requiring them to work longer hours than the law allows, violating child labor regulations, the Department of Transportation said. Labor (DOL) in a statement.

NBC reported that among the minors employed by the company Tuff Torq there were immigrant childrenaccording to statements from DOL authorities.

Tuff Torq Corp., which makes outdoor power equipment components for brands including John Deere, Toro and Yamaha, must pay a civil fine of $296,951 and comply with federal child labor laws in the future, the Labor Department said.

The company must also reserve $1.5 million in profits related to the employment of the 10 children found to be working at his factory in Morristown, Tennessee. That money, the Labor Department said, “will be used for the benefit of illegally employed children.” A department spokesperson said the children were as young as 14 years old.

The sentence was handed down in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee after the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division determined that Tuff Torq had employed several children to perform hazardous work.

Officials began their investigation months ago and obtained “clear evidence” of labor violations in Januarywhen they observed a child operating a motorized lifting device, which is prohibited for workers under 18 years of age.

“Even one child working in a dangerous environment is too much.”

“Over the past year, we have seen an alarming increase in child labor violations, and these violations put children in danger,” Looman reported. “With this agreement,” she added, “we ensure that Tuff Torq takes immediate and meaningful action to stop the illegal employment of children.”

Tuff Torq said in a statement cited by The New York Times that it “did not directly employ the individuals,” referring to the underage workers, who it said had been hired by a “temporary staffing agency,” which did not identify.

In fiscal year 2023, the DOL investigated 955 cases of child labor violations, involving 5,792 children nationwide, including 502 children employed in violation of hazardous occupation standards.

The Department of Labor addressed those violations by imposing more than $8 million in civil penalties on employers.

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