An Alabama roofing company has been fined more than $117,000 for violating federal labor laws after a child they hired to work for them fell 50 feet to his death on the first day on the job.
Apex Roofing & Restoration LLC paid $117,175 in civil money penalties after the U.S. Department of Labor determined that the Pelham roofing contractor employed a 15-year-old child in violation of federal child labor laws, resulting in the child’s death at a Cullman worksite.
On July 1, 2019, a teen reported to the worksite for the first day on the job.
While working on the roof of a Cullman Casting Corporation building, the teen worker fell approximately 50 feet to the floor below, suffering fractures of the wrist, skull and ribs, among other severe injuries. The teen was pronounced dead at the scene of the incident.
The department’s Wage and Hour Division found Apex Roofing illegally employed the teen in violation of a Fair Labor Standards Act child labor hazardous occupation order that prohibits workers under the age of 18 from engaging in dangerous jobs designated by the act, including roofing or construction operations. After an investigation, begun in 2019, the agency assessed the civil money penalty of $117,175 through the child labor enhanced penalty program. This program increases penalties to address violations that cause the death or serious injuries of any worker under the age of 18.