A Florida bakery is in hot water with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) after investigators found a 13-year-old “volunteer” worker was allowed to operate a power-driven bread slicer.
Bread & Co. engaged the 13-year-old as an unpaid volunteer and then had them undertake a hazardous occupation in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), according to a DOL news release.
The company “used a minor as free labor and then exposed the child to a dangerous machine with the potential to cause serious injury in violation of federal law,” Wage and Hour Division District Office Director Wildalí De Jesús said in the news release.
Wage and Hour Division investigators also found the company’s pay practices violated the wage requirements of the FLSA.
A fine of $9,979 was assessed to Bread & Co. for the child labor law and other FLSA violations.
