City Of Concord Fined After Child Labor Law Violation

CONCORD, NH — The city of Concord has paid a fine to the federal government after a teenager was injured while working at the snack bar at the Everett Arena in September 2019. A 14-year-old employee suffered burns while using a deep-fat fryer that was not equipped with an automatic motion device that lowers and raises the fryer basket in and out of hot oil, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division. The city violated federal child labor laws by employing 14- and 15-year-old employees without the proper equipment which caused the injury.

According to a Department of Labor spokesperson, employees under 16 may perform only that cooking which involves the use of an electric or gas grilles that do not entail cooking over an open flame or deep fat fryers that are equipped with and utilize devices that automatically lower and raise the baskets into and out of the oil or grease.

The city also violated federal child labor laws by employing four 14- and 15-year-old employees at the snack bar at hours over the allowed limit. The division discovered during its investigation that teenagers had worked more than eight hours on non-school days and more than three hours on days when school was in session — longer hours than permitted for employee age group.

"The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to helping young workers enjoy positive, appropriate and safe employment experiences," said Daniel Cronin, New Hampshire's Wage and Hour Division district director. "Child labor laws ensure that young people’s work does not jeopardize their health, well-being or educational opportunities and curtail injuries such as the one that occurred in this case. Child labor violations are avoidable and all employers should strive to provide a safe and healthy on-the-job experience for young workers."

The city paid a $9,645 civil penalty for the violation which falls under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Jennifer Johnston, the director of Human Resources for the city, said officials regretted the accident and cooperated with the feds during the investigation — which led to a reduction in the fine.

"Our employee’s safety as well compliance with both federal and state labor laws are of paramount importance to us," she said. "We strive to provide employment opportunities to youth that introduce them to positive job habits and develop their skills. The injury involving our teen worker occurred while cleaning a fryer and resulted from a failure to follow established protocols for cleaning fryers. The injury was unrelated to the lack of device that automatically lowers and raises the basket into and out of the hot oil. Our history of compliance prior to this incident spans 30 years. We have retrained our staff and fully expect no further violations will occur.”

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