The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division has fined a Murray, Utah-based
theater chain $22,230 in civil penalties for employing minors in violation
of federal child labor hours standards. For a Limited Time receive a
FREE Compensation Market Analysis Report! Find out how much you should be paying to attract and retain the best applicants and employees, with
customized information for your industry, location, and job.
Get Your Report Now!The penalties were issued to Consolidated Theaters, Inc. The department says it found a total of 24 youths
ages 14 and 15 were employed in violation of the hours and time-of-day
standards of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The violations included
employment of minors in the theaters later than 7:00 p.m. during the school
year and later than 9:00 p.m. from June 1st to Labor Day, according to the department.
The department says young people worked more than three hours on school days and
more than 18 hours during school weeks, with work schedules exceeding
the 7:00 p.m. standard by more than three hours on a routine basis. Investigators
found one youth working as late as 12:30 a.m.
"Work experience is valuable for young workers, but youth employment standards
are in place to keep teens from working during hours that can subject them to
dangers at night, and from working long hours that can harm their education,"
says Dean A. Campbell, Wage and Hour district director in Salt Lake City.
Campbell notes the penalty assessments were increased, because this employer
had identical violations in a 1996 investigation.
The Labor Department says the FLSA specifies that 14 and 15 year-olds may work outside school hours,
but not before 7:00 a.m. and not later than 7:00 p.m. (9:00 p.m. from June 1
until Labor Day). They may not work more than 3 hours on a school day, and not
more than 18 hours in a school week. These youths may work up to 8 hours on
a non-school day or 40 hours in a non-school week when school is out of session.
Links