Tennessee Manufacturer Fined for Child Labor Violations, Ordered to Compensate Victims
A Tennessee parts manufacturer has been ordered to pay nearly $300,000 in fines and turn over $1.5 million in profits after employing minors in dangerous jobs.
- The U.S. Department of Labor obtained a federal consent judgment against Tuff Torq Corp. for employing children illegally and subjecting them to oppressive child labor.
- Tuff Torq, which manufactures outdoor power equipment components for companies like John Deere and Toro, must stop employing children and comply with federal child labor laws.
- The judgment includes a $296,951 civil money penalty and requires Tuff Torq to set aside $1.5 million as disgorgement of profits, to be used for the benefit of the children employed illegally.
- Investigators found children as young as 14 working late at night in dangerous conditions at the Tuff Torq facility.
- The Department of Labor has seen an alarming increase in child labor violations, with 955 cases involving 5,792 children nationwide in the last fiscal year.
Fox Business 
NBC News 
ABC News 
Washington Post 
