Feds Impose Hefty Fine on Firm That Hired an 11-Year-Old Forklift Prodigy

A warehouse in Kentucky has been fined $30,276 and ordered to stop employing underage workers after it was discovered that two children, including an 11-year-old operating a forklift, were working there. According to a report from NBC News, the US Department of Labor found that the children had been working at Win.It America Inc. for several months before the labor law violation was uncovered in August. It is important to note that operating a forklift is considered hazardous for individuals under the age of 18. The other child worker, a 13-year-old, was picking up orders in the warehouse, which is a prohibited occupation for workers under the age of 16, as stated in a press release by the department.

According to the department, “the company employed both children for more hours than legally allowed and violated federal regulations that forbid employing workers under 14 years of age in non-agricultural occupations.” As part of a consent judgment, the company has been ordered to hire a consultant for “semi-annual compliance training for all management personnel for a period of three years.” The department expressed concern over the increasing use of child labor.

Regional Solicitor Tremelle Howard stated, “When we find child labor violations, the Department of Labor will not hesitate to use all enforcement tools available to compel compliance, including stopping the shipment of goods created and produced while the business was breaking the law to do so.” Win.IT America is the US branch of a Chinese “supply chain solutions” firm, according to the department. The company was also ordered to pay $1 million in back wages to workers last year after the department found that it had failed to properly calculate overtime pay, as reported by WCPO. (Read more child labor stories.)