The U.S. Department of Labor has 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.
Entered on Aug. 12, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, 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.
“The court’s action reflects the U.S. Department of Labor’s relentless pursuit of any employer that endangers children by employing them to work in dangerous jobs,” explained Regional Solicitor Tremelle Howard in Atlanta. “Staffing agencies have a responsibility to make sure children are not being employed illegally and that their safety and well-being are never jeopardized in the pursuit of profit.”
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.
“When employers fail to keep children in our communities safe from workplace dangers, the U.S. Department of Labor will act swiftly to hold violators accountable for their actions,” said Wage and Hour Regional Administrator Juan Coria in Atlanta. “This case affirms our commitment to hold all employers, including staffing agencies, accountable when they violate federal child labor laws.”
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.
In fiscal year 2023, the department investigated 955 cases with child labor violations involving 5,792 children nationwide – an 88 percent increase since 2019 – including 502 children employed in violation of hazardous occupation standards. The department addressed those violations by assessing employers more than $8 million in civil money penalties.
The division offers confidential compliance assistance to anyone – regardless of where they are from – with questions about their wages or how to stay in compliance with the law by calling the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). The department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.