The U.S. Department of Labor has secured a federal consent judgment to prevent the illegal employment of children and uphold federal child labor laws in the future by the operator of a Hebron warehouse and distribution center.
Issued in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky on September 8, the action centers around Win.IT America Inc.’s unlawful employment of children, which investigators from the Department’s Wage and Hour Division uncovered in August 2023. These investigations revealed that the company had employed two children, aged 11 and 13, for several months at its distribution center.
The Department’s Wage and Hour Division identified several violations of child labor provisions outlined in the Fair Labor Standards Act committed by Win.IT America. These breaches encompassed assigning one child to operate a forklift, a hazardous occupation for individuals under 18, and another child to fulfill order picking duties in the warehouse, a prohibited role for workers under 16. Additionally, the company had these children working for more hours than legally allowed and infringed upon federal regulations that prohibit the employment of individuals under 14 years of age in non-agricultural occupations.
The court has mandated that Win.IT America complies with federal child labor regulations, and further stipulated that the company pays $30,276 in civil money penalties. Win.IT America is also required to enlist a third-party consultant to provide semi-annual compliance training to all management personnel over a three-year period.
Regional Solicitor Tremelle Howard in Atlanta emphasized the importance of businesses adhering to federal child labor regulations, which are in place to ensure the well-being and education of young workers, as they gain valuable work experience without endangering their safety.
In the fiscal year 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor identified child labor violations involving 3,876 children nationwide, marking an increase of over 60 percent over the past five years. The Department resolved these violations by imposing more than $4.3 million in civil money penalties on employers.
According to Howard, the Department of Labor is unwavering in its commitment to combat the alarming rise in child labor violations in the United States. Employers have a responsibility to ensure that they do not unlawfully employ children, and any failure to meet this obligation will result in swift action to hold them accountable and protect the nation’s youth.
Win.IT America Inc., the U.S. branch of WinIT Information Technology Co. based in Shanghai, China, is an integrated supply chain solutions provider founded in October 2013. The company has over 700 employees in the U.S., Australia, Germany, and Great Britain.