AMHERST, NH — The owners of two New Hampshire wineries have paid a child labor violation fine as well as back wages to 69 employees, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The LaBelle Winery and Americus at LaBelle Winery, which has locations in Amherst, Derry, and Portsmouth, were found to have violated federal child labor provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act. Specifically, the companies allowed 33 employees under the age of 16 to work more hours than allowed by law.
The minimum age for most non-agricultural jobs is 14 and are subject to requirements and limitations. Young workers under 16, as an example, cannot work more than three hours on a school day or eight hours on a non-school day. They also cannot work more than 18 hours a week during the school year or 40 hours a week during the summer or vacation weeks. Children are also not allowed to work before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. between Labor Day and June 1. During the summer months, workers under 16 can work until 9 p.m.
In the case against LaBelle, they allowed workers under 16, in both Amherst and Derry, to work as many as six hours on school days and nine on non-school days as well as 24 hours during a school week. Some young employees worked as late as 11 p.m.
The company was fined $22,803.
During the investigation, federal officials also found that LaBelle required tipped employees to pay for uniforms during their first week of employment, a violation of the law. They also failed to pay overtime to...
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