Tuff Torq Corp., a Tennessee-based manufacturing company is facing substantial fines close to $300,000 for exploiting children and violating child labor laws by having them operate hazardous machinery and work illegal hours, as declared by the Department of Labor (DOL). These specific fines are unique to other child labor law violation cases for the new legal precedents they set.

The company which is known for producing power equipment parts for brands like John Deere, Toro, and Yamaha, has also been mandated to allocate $1.5 million in profits to the 10 children it employed, some as young as 14, in what authorities described as “oppressive child labor.”

Case and context  

This $300,000 fine and mandated allocation of profits for the child workers comes amid a wave of child labor violations across the U.S. at levels unseen in almost two decades. As reported by The Washington Post:

For the year ended Sept.30, 2023, the federal government recorded 5,792 minors working in violation of child labor laws. The rising numbers are being driven, in part, by a historically tight labor market that has led to shortages across several industries, as well as an immigration surge that has brought hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied minors into the United States.

The Tuff Torq fines stem from a DOL investigation that began in 2023. During a tour of its facilities in January, federal investigators reported observing a child operating “a power-driven hoisting apparatus.” As a result, the department objected to the shipment of goods from that facility, citing the Fair Labor Standards Act’s “hot goods” provision, which prevents employers from shipping goods produced with exploitative child labor.

Learn more