A Tennessee company that makes outdoor power equipment components will need to pay almost $300,000 in fines for employing child labor.

The Labor Department said in a release Monday that Tuff Torq had illegally employed ten children under the age of 18 in dangerous jobs.

What You Need To Know

  • Tuff Torq will need to pay almost $300,000 in fines for employing child labor

  • The Labor Department said the company had illegally employed ten children under the age of 18 in dangerous jobs

  • In fiscal year 2023, the department said it investigated 955 cases of child labor violations involving 5,792 children nationwide

  • Labor Department investigators said they observed a child operating power-driven hoist equipment at a Tuff Torq facility that makes outdoor power equipment components for companies including John Deere, Toro and Yamaha

“Even one child working in a dangerous environment is too many,” Labor Department Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman said in a statement. “Over the past year, we have seen an alarming increase in child labor violations, and these violations put children in harm’s way.”

The department said it began looking into Tuff Torq’s use of child labor several months ago but discovered evidence in January, when investigators observed a child operating power-driven hoist equipment. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the company is prohibited from shipping goods produced with oppressive child labor, the department said.

Tuff Torq, which supplies parts for John Deere, Toro and Yamaha, must pay $296,951 in civil penalties and set aside $1.5 million in profits related to its use of child labor. The Labor Department said the money it collects from the company “will be used for the benefit of the children employed illegally.”

The department said it investigated 955 cases of child labor violations in fiscal year 2023 that involved 5,792 children nationwide. About 10% of those children were employed in violation of hazardous occupation standards.

In addition to the monetary fines, Tuff Torq has agreed to establish an anonymous tip line for reporting child labor, to allow unannounced and warrantless searches of its facility for three years and to contract with a community-based group to provide regular training for staff, managers and contractors.