Teen worker’s finger amputation gets Mich. company fined
Following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Tuff Automation Inc. has paid a civil money penalty of $28,474 after a 17-year-old employee suffered an amputation of his right index finger while operating an unguarded band saw at the Grand Rapids, Michigan, manufacturing facility. The minor also suffered significant nerve damage to his right middle finger.
WHD investigators found the company violated the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by employing a worker under the age of 18 to operate prohibited hazardous equipment.