Compliance December 20, 2005

Child Labor Laws Restrict Transportation of Goods

December 20, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A commercial fishing enterprise in Alaska was recently fined $11,700 for violating child labor laws by carrying its fish back to shore.
Reported by

Thompson.com reports that the Administrative Review Board (ARB), on appeal from the employer, upheld the Department of Labor’s levy based on a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provision.   The provision prohibits minors between the ages of 14 and 16 from work that involves “the transportation of people or property by rail, highway, air, water, pipeline or other means.”

The employer argued that its sole purpose was catching fish and not any subsequent transporting of the fish.   However, the ARB found that the employer violated the FLSA provision when it hauled its fish back to shore.   The civil penalty for such violation is as much as $11,000 for each employee who is subject to the violation.

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