DOL Finds Roofing Company Violated Child Labor Laws Following Teen Worker’s Death — Occupational Health & Safety

DOL Finds Roofing Company Violated Child Labor Laws Following Teen Worker’s Death

Apex Roofing & Restoration LLC faces $117,175 in fines after the 15-year-old’s fatal fall.

• By Robert Yaniz Jr.
• Feb 09, 2024

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has fined Apex Roofing & Restoration LLC $117,175 after a 15-year-old employee died following a fall from a roof at a Cullman, Alabama work site.

According to a release dated Feb. 7, the incident—which occurred on July 1, 2019—involved the teenage worker falling approximately 50 feet while working on the roof of a building owned by Cullman Casting Corporation. The fall resulted in fatal injuries, including fractures to the wrist, skull and ribs. The employee was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene.

The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division concluded Apex Roofing’s employment of the minor directly violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s child labor hazardous occupation order, which prohibits the employment of individuals under 18 in high-risk jobs, such as roofing and construction. The fine is part of the child labor enhanced penalty program, which seeks to impose stricter penalties on violations resulting in the death or serious injury of minor workers.

“Apex Roofing risked the life of a child by employing him to work on a roof in violation of federal child labor laws, leaving relatives and friends to grieve an unnecessary and preventable tragedy,” Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman said in a statement. “The Wage and Hour Division will continue using every tool at our disposal to combat illegal child labor and hold violators accountable.”

In fiscal year 2023 alone, the Wage and Hour Division uncovered child labor violations in more than 950 investigations, resulting in more than $8 million in penalties.