S.D. Firms Cited for Child Labor Violations

The U.S. Department of Labor announced Tuesday that it had cited 44 San Diego County employers for allegedly violating federal child labor laws and had assessed $71,275 in fines against the companies.

The announcement was made after a strike force affiliated with the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division investigated employers in the county between March 23 and April 3. The strike force was part of a nationwide crackdown on child labor violators.

Linda Burleson, Wage and Hour district director, said investigators found 87 minors employed throughout the county in violation of child labor laws. She said the majority of violations involved minors age 14 and 15 working too many hours.

Under the Federal Labor Standards Act, children may not work more than three hours a day or 18 hours a week during school weeks. During non-school weeks, children may not work more than eight hours a day or 40 hours a week.

The largest civil penalty was assessed against Van Ommering Dairy in Lakeside. The company was fined $7,500 for allegedly allowing a minor to work in a hazardous occupation. A minor who was working with a grain auger was pulled into the equipment and lost the permanent use of one arm, the department said.

The company has appealed the penalty, claiming the boy was not an employee, but rather was helping his father.

Other companies cited by the department included:

* Roundtable Pizza in Escondido, fined $7,200 for allegedly allowing three minors to work too many hours and in hazardous conditions.

* TDH Financial in San Diego, fined $4,525. The department said the company allowed five minors to work too many hours and had record-keeping violations.

* Rubio’s, an Encinitas taco outlet, fined $4,500. The department said the company allowed four minors to work too many hours and had other violations.

* Oak Creek Market in Ramona, fined $3,075 for allegedly letting five minors work too many hours.

* Major Market in San Diego, fined $3,000 for allegedly allowing two minors to work in hazardous conditions.