Underage teen workers did 'oppressive child labor' for Tennessee parts supplier, feds say

The Department of Labor has fined a Tennessee parts supplier for John Deere, Toro and Yamaha with illegally employing children as young as 14 in dangerous jobs.

Tuff Torq of Morristown in eastern Tennessee will pay a $296,951 penalty after the department's Wage and Hour Division confirmed the the outdoor power equipment parts manufacturer "subjected 10 children to oppressive child labor," the Labor Department said on Monday.

The department's Wage and Hour Division said began its probe of Tuff Torq in 2023, but received proof of the unlawful work on Jan. 23, 2024, when investigators witnessed a child operating a "power-driven hoisting apparatus" like a forklift. Workers under the age of 18 are prohibited from operating that type of machinery.

Tuff Torq agreed to quit illegally hiring children and will set aside $1.5 million from profits made during the kids' employment, which will go to the children, in the settlement announced by the department's Office of the Solicitor.

“Even one child working in a dangerous environment is too many,” Wage and Hour Division administrator Jessica Looman said in a press release. “Over the past year, we have seen an alarming increase in child labor violations, and these violations put children in harm’s way. With this agreement, we are ensuring Tuff Torq takes immediate and significant steps to stop the illegal employment of children."

She continued: "When employers fail to meet their obligations, we will act swiftly to hold them accountable and protect children.”

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More about the settlement

The department filed the action against the company on March 22 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

Yanmar Group, which owns Tuff Torq Corporation, said that "Tuff Torq did not directly hire and employ the individuals" and that the minors were provided through a "temporary workforce staffing agency," according to a statement sent to the Knoxville News Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Yanmar also said the employees used fake identification and names during the hiring process through the agency.

"Tuff Torq is dedicated to ensuring that their products and services are produced under ethical conditions, with a strong emphasis on fair labor practices, and Tuff Torq is further strengthening our relevant training and compliance programs," Yanmar USA spokesperson Ryan Pott said in the statement. "We are also actively engaging with our suppliers to reinforce our expectations regarding ethical labor practices and collaborate with them on implementing our updated policies."

Tennessee firm's workplace fine just the latest child labor violations in U.S.

Child labor violations, especially in hazardous jobs, has increased 69% since 2018, according to the Labor Department. The agency investigated 955 cases with child labor violations in fiscal year 2023, which ended Sept. 30, 2023.

This included 5,792 children nationwide, with 502 of those kids employed in either violation or hazardous conditions, up 49% from the previous fiscal year. The department assessed employers with civil penalties tallying more than $8 million over the period, nearly double the $4.4 million in fines of the previous year.

Recent child labor violations in the U.S.

• Baskin-Robbins franchisee JODE LLC of Utah was fined $49,833 on March 21, 2024, for allowing 64 employees, ages 14-15, to work too many hours and too late in the day at its eight locations while school was in session, the Labor Department said.
• In December 2023, Southern California poultry processor The Exclusive Poultry Inc., and several related poultry companies, which supplied grocers including Aldi and Ralphs, agreed to pay $3.8 million in back wages and fines for violations including illegally employing children as young as 14 to debone poultry with sharp knifes and operate power-driven lifts to move pallets.
• Three McDonald's franchisees with a combined 62 restaurants in Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio, paid fines totaling $212,544 after the Labor Department charged them with violating the labor rights of 305 minors, including two 10-year-olds who were not paid. The children worked more than the legally permitted hours for those under the age of 16 and performed tasks prohibited by law for young workers including operating a deep fryer, the department said.
• Packers Sanitation Services Inc., of Kieler, Wisconsin, in February 2023 paid a $1.5 million fine assessed by the Labor Department after the agency found it employed 102 minors ages 13 to 17 in “hazardous occupations” at 13 meat processing facilities in eight states. Minors were employed in the largest numbers at two JBS Foods facilities in Nebraska (27) and Minnesota (22), and at a Cargill Inc. facility in Kansas (26), the Labor Department found. 

What are the child labor laws?

The minimum age for employment in the United States is 14 for non-agricultural jobs, but there are restrictions on the types of jobs minors can work and work hours permitted. For instance, the minimum age for jobs in the agriculture sector the minimum age is much lower.

Some jobs for minors are exempt from Fair Labor Standards Act, such as babysitting, working in non-hazardous businesses owned by their parents, and performance work including radio, TV, movies, and theatrical productions.

Tennessee's Child Labor Act protects minors aged 14 to 17 with restrictions on how many hours worked and types of jobs they can do. For instance, workers under the age of 18 cannot work in certain manufacturing jobs, meat packing, demolition or operate power-driven hoisting apparatuses.

Some states have looked at loosening child labor laws allowing teens to work more hours and in more workplaces.

Contributing: Francisco Guzman, Eric Lagatta, Rachel Looker, Clare Mulroy and Orlando Mayorquin.