Company fined over child-labor violations

An Orem-based market-research company is appealing one of the largest civil penalties ever assessed by the U.S. Department of Labor for alleged violations of child-labor rules.

The department's Wage and Hour Division on Tuesday said Western Wats Center Inc., a market-research company with offices in Utah and six other states, must pay a whopping $552,750 in civil penalties. That's "among the highest ever assessed by the department," said Lee Ann Dunbar, director of the department's Salt Lake Wage and Hour Division office, which conducted the investigation.

The department says the company violated child-labor provisions by employing 1,482 minors and not following the rules on wages and how many hours youthful employees are allowed to work. Three of the employees were 13; the rest were 14 and 15.

A news release from the Labor Department said the violations occurred at centers in Orem, Logan and Spanish Fork; Pocatello and Rexburg, Idaho; Casa Grande, Ariz.; Independence and Pittsburg, Kan.; Wayne, Neb.; Brookings, S.D.; and Laramie, Wyo.

"We received notice of the finding a couple of weeks ago," Western Wats attorney Stacey Jenkins said Tuesday. "We have filed an appeal with the Department of Labor. Western Wats does not agree with the DOL finding."

Jenkins said that in the first three months of 2009, the Labor Department staff performed an "exhaustive review of millions of Western Wats employment records." When it alleged violations, "unfortunately, the finding was not accompanied by sufficient information to determine its validity," he said in a prepared statement. "Western Wats vehemently denies the extent and severity of the claimed violations. In all cases, the work was performed in a safe environment and provided an excellent employment experience. While it is possible that technical violations did occur, it is appropriate to withhold judgment until the appeal process is complete."

Jenkins told the Deseret News that in Utah alone, the company employs between 400 and 500 people.

According to federal labor rules, children who are 14 and 15 years old are allowed to work no more than three hours on a school day and 18 hours total during a school week. On non-school days, they can work no more than eight hours or a total of 40 hours during the week. Rules also govern between which hours they can work, prevent them from working in designated hazardous occupations and set minimum-wage standards.

The bulk of the violations involved child-labor provisions on how many hours can be worked by youth. Minimum-wage violations were "minimal," said Dunbar.

More information on labor laws is online at youthrules.dol.gov or at laborcommission.utah.gov.

e-mail: lois@desnews.com