[NYTr] CVS fined over $225,000 for youth labor law violations

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

excerpted from NYCOSH Update on Safety & Health - Dec 14, 2007
http://www.nycosh.org

CVS fined over $225,000 for youth labor law violations

CVS Pharmacy Inc. will pay over $225,000 in fines following a federal
investigation that found young workers were operating hazardous
machinery and were working more hours than the law allows, the U.S.
Department of Labor announced this week.

The investigation, which covered 63 CVS stores in the northeast
including 19 in New York, also found that that store managers had
altered employee time cards and CVS has agreed to pay $38,511 in back
wages to 51 store employees.

A total of 78 young workers between 15 and 17 years old were operating,
or loading and unloading, cardboard compactor/balers, in violation of
youth employee provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act, said DOL
spokesman John Chavez.

“These are hazardous pieces of equipment. NIOSH has done studies that
show there are fatalities on these machines every year,” said Steve
Mooser, Safety & Health Director, Retail, Wholesale and Department
Store Union and NYCOSH Board Member. “We’re very vigilant in the
grocery stores to make sure the child labor laws are not violated and
that there are safe practices in place for compactors and balers. Kids
under eighteen shouldn’t be working on these machines.”

In the DOL investigation, seven minors, all of whom were 15 years old
at the time, were found to have worked as late as 11 p.m. on a school
day, or as many as five hours on a school day, or in excess of eight
hours on a non-school day, Chavez said.  Under the law, 14 and 15 year
olds are allowed to work from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and up to three hours on
school days.

Of the 63 CVS sites that were investigated, 43 stores had wage and/or
youth employment violations, Chavez said.