Popcorn and Child Labor Don’t Mix

What comes to mind when you think of child labor?  Do you picture children working in  sweatshops in distant countries?  Or do you imagine a long-lost chapter in American history in which kids toiled at sewing machines on the Lower East Side?

The definitions of child labor are more specific than you might have imagined, but it is the obligation of employers to understand the entirety of child labor laws when they hire minors to work.  For instance, employers cannot permit minors to partake in loading product, unless specific conditions are met.  Employers must also adhere to a limited work schedule for its younger workers.

Among the violators of U.S. child labor laws in this chapter of American history are three movie theatre companies.  The U.S. Department of Labor has assessed a total of $277,475 in civil money penalties against three movie theatre companies, Marcus Theatre Corp., Regal Cinemas Inc. and Wehrenberg Inc., for allowing dozens of teens to perform hazardous jobs and work longer hours than allowed by the youth employment provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division, through a strategic enforcement initiative aimed at curbing violations in an industry found to have a high rate of non-compliance with child labor laws, discovered approximately 160 minors were being required to perform hazardous jobs — such as operating paper balers and trash compactors, operating motor vehicles, using power driven mixers and baking — in theatres owned by the three chains.  Marcus Theatre Corp. also allowed youth to work beyond permitted hours.  The 27 theatres where the minors were employed are in nine states: California, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina and Wisconsin.

“The penalties imposed as a result of these violations should serve as a wake-up call to movie theatre owners and other employers,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “Businesses that employ minors are legally and ethically obligated to abide by child labor standards and ensure youth are protected on the job.”