US Guys Deer Processing, a company based in Michigan, America, received a $1,143 (about R21,685) fine after an employee, who was 17-years-old at the time had his hand severed by a meat processor.
During a typical work shift in 2019, the young man lost his hand in the grisly manner. The business owner was investigated for employing a minor in dangerous labour and failing to get work permits.
According to CBS News, he entered a guilty plea.
“Had this happened two months later, we would not even be here (the teen was about to turn 18). Ionia County is a farming county, and I know a lot of people in this county view children working, sometimes around dangerous machinery, as part of growing up,” the judge was quoted as saying.
Social commentary streamer and YouTuber shared on X that, “A penalty rich people can easily pay for a crime like this is not a fine, it’s the price of admission.”
According to the owner’s defence counsel, the organisation employed the adolescent, a high school dropout, to assist him. He added that the youngster was told not to put his hand into the grinder.
When announcing the plea and the fee, the attorney general urged the state legislature to strengthen the penalties for illegally hiring children.
“Our labour laws were written to protect children from dangerous workplaces; however, they lack the teeth needed to properly hold bad employers accountable for violations,” the attorney general was quoted as saying by Yahoo! News.
“This case highlights the need to strengthen these protections, as well as the consequences for violations... and I look forward to working with the legislature on this critical work to protect the state’s youth.”
IOL