On Tuesday, Alabama Department of Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington announced that the ADOL has issued and collected more than $35,000 in civil monetary penalties for violations of Alabama’s Child Labor Law. Two businesses, SL Alabama, LLC, and JK USA were fined $17,800 each for multiple violations of the Child Labor Law.
SL Alabama is an automotive supplier producing headlights and mirrors for Hyundai Motor Manufacturing in Montgomery. The facility is located in Alexander City, AL. JK USA is a temporary employment agency providing workers to automotive suppliers based in Opelika, AL.
Both companies were cited for: three violations of employing a minor under the age of 16 in a manufacturing facility (3 violations = $15,000), two violations of employing minors aged 14 or 15 in a prohibited environment (2 violations = $600), two violations of working minors under the age of 16 outside of permissible hours (2 violations= $600), one violation of failing to obtain the proper Class 1 Child Labor Certificate permit (1 violation = $50), one violation of failing to obtain the proper Class 2 Child Labor Certificate permit (1 violation = $50), and five violations of failing to obtain proper identification documents (5 violations = $1,500).
The case, which has drawn national attention to Alabama, was uncovered following a complaint. An investigation of the facility was conducted by ADOL’s Child Labor Inspectors, along with representatives from the United States Department of Labor, the United States Department of Homeland Security, and the Alabama Attorney General’s Office. The investigation determined that SL Alabama had employed three minors, aged 13, 15, and 15, in a prohibited manufacturing environment.
All three of the minors were provided by JK USA, a temporary employment agency, but were performing work at SL Alabama. The minors were operating plastic bonding machines in a prohibited occupation and location.
Two other 16-year-old employees were working without appropriate record-keeping on the premises. Neither SL Alabama nor JK USA had obtained any required Child Labor Certificates for any age group.
JK USA provided the underage workers to SL Alabama but did not provide documentation regarding the three underage employees until required to do so by state and federal investigators. E-Verify had not cleared the minors. This web-based system allows enrolled employers to confirm the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States but was still provided to SL Alabama by JK USA.
“This practice of providing and employing underage and undocumented workers is appalling,” Sec. Washington stated in a press release. “Employee safety, especially the safety of children, is a top priority. These businesses violated the law and put these children at risk, and it will not be tolerated in Alabama. We will vigorously investigate any business or industry suspected to be participating in this illegal activity. We will continue to work with our federal partners, the U.S. Departments of Labor and Homeland Security, and our state Attorney General’s office to assist in any further investigations or potential criminal prosecutions.”
The Legislature has not given the ADOL the statutory authority to levy any criminal charges for violations of Child Labor Law.
Both companies have submitted the penalties in their entirety.
The SL Alabama has agreed to cut ties with JK USA and punish management employees as part of the deal that the company has agreed to in a settlement of a federal lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Labor.
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