Florence Hardwoods LLC agreed to a consent order from the U.S. Eastern District Court of Wisconsin that resulted from the death of a 16-year-old worker at the mill June 29.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the teen died will attempting to unjam a wood-stacking machine when the conveyor belt he was standing on moved and he became pinned in the machine. The teen died from his injuries two days later in a hospital.
Under the consent order, the company agreed to pay $190,696 in civil forfeitures and to make several operational changes.
The U.S. Department of Labor says Florence Hardwoods placed labels and signage to prevent children under age 18 from using dangerous equipment and entering the company’s sawmill and planer buildings. The company has also agreed not to hire anyone under the age of 16 and if the company hires anyone between the ages of 16 and 18 in the future, the company will strictly comply with the requirements for apprentices or student learners and inform the department before hiring them. Training materials will be provided to employees, equipment will be audited for safety and child labor compliance and the company will use the U.S. Dept. of Labor Youth Employment Compliance Toolkit.
While investigating the 16-year-old worker’s death, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division’s investigation found:
- Three children, ages 15 to 16, suffered injuries in November 2021, July 2022 and March 2023. One child suffered injuries on two separate occasions.
- Florence Hardwoods employed nine children, ages 14 to 17, to illegally operate machinery, such as a chop saw, rip saw and other automated machines used to process lumber, which federal law considers hazardous occupations for workers under 18.
- The company employed seven children, ages 14- and 15-years-old, to work outside legally permitted hours.
Court records state that the day after the teen’s death, Florence Hardwoods terminated all employees under 18 at its facility, and verified to the court that no one under the age of 18 is now employed by the company.
The Fair Labor Standards Act forbids any producer, manufacturer or dealer from shipping or delivering for shipment in interstate commerce “hot goods” removed from the producing establishment in the 30 days after a child labor violation. Prohibition on shipping hot goods is not limited to employers who initially produce products with child labor. Rather it also applies to any producer, manufacturer or dealer who later receives them.
During its investigation, the division alerted two of the sawmill’s customers that they possessed goods subject to the hot goods provision. Both customers agreed voluntarily to refrain from shipping or delivering for shipment in interstate commerce the hot goods they received until the legal matter was resolve.
The consent agreement released the hot goods for shipment and delivery.
