Park Stops Hiring Minors: 26 Employers Were Fined for Labor Violations
 
By Becky Pallack
The Arizona Daily Star - Tucson
 
Jan. 5 -- Tucson Raceway Park won't hire minors anymore, a decision made by officials after the park received a small fine from the Industrial Commission of Arizona for violating child-labor law.

The park was one of 26 Arizona employers fined by the commission for state child labor law violations in the third quarter of 2006, according to a report released Wednesday.

The park was fined $56 for allowing a teenage employee to work more hours than the law allows. By law, children under age 16 may work only three hours on a school day and eight hours on a non-school day.

Joyce Ruth, Tucson Raceway Park director of operations, said it was easier to pay the small fine than spend time appealing it. Someone filed a complaint with the commission on opening night, she said. To avoid future problems, the track will stop hiring minors, Ruth said.

The Dairy Queen in Picacho, owned by Bowlin Travel Centers Inc., was fined the same amount for the same violation. Bowlin previously was fined in the first quarter of the year for allowing a teenager to cook. Teens under 16 may not cook or bake, operate machinery, or do construction or warehousing work, according to state law.

Also fined in the third quarter was Wildcat Golf Partners, which operates the Crooked Tree Golf Course in Tucson, for allowing a teenage worker to operate a golf cart. The company was fined $308.

The state labor division received 455 referrals about possible violations in July, August and September. Investigators looked at 81 cases and found violations in 26 cases. In 23 of those cases, the employer was fined less than $300.

Ten Phoenix metro area companies also were fined. They are: a Barro's Pizza operated by KJB Enterprises Inc.; a Baskin-Robbins operated by Golden Song Inc.; Final Faze Custom Builders Inc.; a Food City grocery store; Integrated Stucco Inc.; K&M Woodcrafts Inc.; Midwest Mechanical Contractors Inc.; North American Enclosures Inc.; R C Mobile Home Transporting; and The Arc of Arizona Inc.

The other employers that were fined are: Ace Hardware, in Pinetop; Ballard Truss Inc., in Snowflake; Cumorah Construction Inc., in Kingman; a Dairy Queen operated by Clayton Management Group LLC, in Overgaard; El Coronado Family Restaurant, in Safford; Grand Canyon Caverns and Inn, in Peach Springs; Lopez Contracting, in Cochise; Pine Meadows Country Club, in Overgaard; Reidhead Brothers Lumber Mills Inc., in Nutrioso; Rock Springs Restaurant, in Black Canyon City; Tonto Supply Inc., in Colorado City; Vito's Gourmet Pizza Kitchen, in Bullhead City; and David's Custom Welding, in Yuma.

--For more information on child labor laws, visit the Web site of the U.S. Department of Labor's YouthRules project (www.youthrules.dol.gov). The site spells out the laws and offers sections for employers, teens and parents.

--For information about filing a complaint, call (602) 542-4515, or download a form from the Industrial Commission of Arizona's Web site, www.ica.state.az.us.

--Contact reporter Becky Pallack at 573-4224 or at bpallack@azstarnet.com.
 
azstarnet.com
Originally published Friday, 5 January 2007
 
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