The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of the Solicitor has obtained a federal consent judgment that requires a Morristown, Tenn., manufacturer of outdoor power equipment components for major companies including John Deere, Toro and Yamaha to stop employing children illegally and to follow federal child labor laws in the future. 

The judgment, which comes after the department’s Wage and Hour Division identified several children employed in dangerous jobs, includes a $296,951 civil money penalty. The employer must also set aside $1.5 million as disgorgement of 30 days’ profits related to its use of child labor. The proceeds paid by Tuff Torq will be used for the benefit of the children employed illegally. 

Entered in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greenville on March 22, 2024, the action addressed Tuff Torq Corp.’s illegal employment of children. To date, the department has determined that Tuff Torq subjected 10 children to oppressive child labor.

Division investigators began its probe months ago but obtained clear evidence of the unlawful conduct on Jan. 23, 2024, when they returned to the Tuff Torq facility and observed a child operating a power-driven hoisting apparatus, an occupation prohibited for workers under the age of 18. As a result, the department objected to the shipment of goods from the Morristown facility, citing the Fair Labor Standards Act’s “hot goods” provision, which prevents employers from shipping goods produced by oppressive child labor. 

In addition to an agreement to comply with the child labor provisions of the FLSA, payment of the full civil money penalty, and disgorgement of profits, Tuff Torq has agreed, among other provisions, to do the following:

  • Contract with a community-based organization to provide regular training to staff, managers and contractors.
  • Establish an anonymous tip line for reporting child labor and other suspected FLSA violations.
  • Allow unannounced and warrantless searches of its facility to three years.
  • Refrain from entering any new contracts with staffing agencies or other contractors with child labor violations and will require contractors to disclose child labor violations and hiring protocols.

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