Where I work, we have a cardboard baler for recycling cardboard. Under 18 cannot put cardboard into a baler. On those school nights (yes, Fridays are school nights), the minors are told about 5 min before mandatory punch out time to put down whatever they are doing and go punch out. As part of a nationwide chain, the company can not afford the fines and most importantly the negative publicity that accompanies it. Imagine the headlines, "Someone's restaurant (or other busines) found in violation of Child Labor Law violations", film at Eleven. It conjures up visions of 10 kids looking forward to getting their driving licenses in a few years who are all jammed up in a hot, dirty kitchen, doing the dishes, cooking, etc. or working in some kind of sweatshop. Which of course is the furthest from the truth, and literally can be the result of a few minutes late on punching out.
I think back to my teen years and my summer employment: 14- pushing a wheelbarrow full of asphalt; 15 &16 - putting up chain link and wooden fencing; 17 - washing & polishing cars at a foreign auto dealership. All jobs paid well, and I worked at least 45 hours per week, sometimes in the 50-60 hr range in the construction trades. Thank god the employers never got in trouble there...think of the fines they may have had.
Too bad for the kids...most are good workers and will be forced out of some pretty good jobs because the employers can't take a chance on catching a fine for being over a few minutes.
Protect the kids and punish the abusers of the laws...unfortunately, the punishment will probably be the same for all...fear of discrimination lawsuits (I got fined this amount, but they only got fined that much).
