The U.S. Department of Labor obtained a consent judgment in a Tennessee federal court that requires a Kingsport staffing agency to stop employing children illegally and forbids them from future violations of federal child labor laws.
The action comes after federal investigators uncovered oppressive child labor at a Morristown manufacturing facility that produces outdoor power equipment for major companies including John Deere, Toro and Yamaha.
The court’s action comes after the department’s Wage and Hour Division discovered several children employed in dangerous jobs at a plant operated by Tuff Torq Corp. The division found that Professional Personnel Service Inc., operating as Luttrell Staffing in Kingsport, employed several children to work at Tuff Torq in violation of the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
In addition to ordering Luttrell Staffing to comply with federal child labor regulations, the court ordered the employer to pay $121,572 in civil money penalties.
In addition to paying civil penalties, Luttrell Staffing was ordered to take the following actions:
- Provide the Wage and Hour Division with a list of all children employed, including specifying the age, current and anticipated hours of work, job duties assigned and types of machines the child operates.
- Hire a third-party compliance specialist for a period of three years to monitor compliance with the FLSA’s child labor provisions.
- Submit a report to the division within 180 days, outlining steps taken to comply with FLSA child labor requirements and then provide annual reports with updates.
- Use the division’s Youth Employment Compliance Assistance Toolkit to identify materials for use in training managers and employees, provided in a language understood by all individuals.
- Coordinate with the compliance specialist for three years to provide child labor compliance training to all management personnel twice a year and to provide training as part of the company’s orientation process for all new managers.
- Establish a toll-free number that allows employees to report violations anonymously.
- Add child labor provisions in the template for contracts with all clients. Contracts must also include the compliance specialist’s name and contact information to allow clients to contact them directly with questions or concerns regarding child labor violations.
Luttrell Staffing provides employers with workers at 40 locations in California, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia. The company’s employees work in light industrial, warehouse, general and skilled labor, construction and office and clerical jobs. Luttrell has corporate headquarters in Kingsport, Tennessee and in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
