Penalties for child labor violations increase

HR Magazine, July, 2008 by Allen Smith

This summer employers will face new penalties when youth are injured or die on the job in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

In addition to prohibiting discrimination based on genetic information, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) amended the FLSA to provide that employers may be penalized up to $50,000 for the death or serious injury of any employee under age 18. The penalty may be doubled if the violation is a repeated or willful violation.

In addition, GINA raised the maximum penalty for other violations of child labor rules from $10,000 per worker to $11,000 and increased the maximum civil penalty--which may be in addition to the ordered payment of unpaid of unpaid wages and damages--for willful violation of minimum wage and overtime provisions of the FLSA from $1,000 per violation to $1,100.

Also, GINA added a definition of "serious injury" to the FLSA. Alexander Passantino, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Acting Administrator for the Wage and Hour Division, said this was the first time a definition of serious injury was provided in the statute.

"Serious injury" under the FLSA now means:

* Permanent loss or substantial impairment of one of the senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, tactile sensation);

* Permanent loss or substantial impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ or mental faculty, including the loss of all or part of an arm, leg, foot, hand or other body part; or

* Permanent paralysis or substantial impairment that causes loss of movement or mobility of an arm, leg, foot, hand or other body part.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) estimates that 157,000 youth sustain work-related injuries and illnesses each year; only a third result in emergency room treatment. Approximately 54 workers under 18 died on the job in 2007.

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"Employers need to take a little extra care in terms of orientation" for teens, said Patricia Mathews, MBA, and president of HR consulting firm Workplace Solutions in St. Louis and a member of the SHRM Employee Relations Special Expertise Panel. This includes basic safety, customer service and sanitary issues.

The new FLSA penalties for child labor violations took effect when GINA was signed into law on May 21 and apply to deaths or serious injuries that occur after GINA's enactment.

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By Allen Smith, J.D., SHRM's manager of workplace law content.