Augusta, ME – In the second quarter of 2023, in addition to completing investigations involving the timely and full payment of wages and overtime violations, the Maine Department of Labor (MDOL) continued to see an upward trend in the number of violations involving youth workers.
The violations include employing youth workers without a work permit, working outside of the hourly restrictions for their age, and working in hazardous occupations not allowed under the law, which in some cases resulted in serious injury.
More information about these violations can be found on MDOL’s Wage & Hour Division violations webpage, which is updated on a quarterly basis. The Wage and Hour Division enforces employment laws such as the timely and full payment of wages, recordkeeping, overtime, tips, and child labor.
“The safety of Maines workers, especially our youth workers, is paramount to the Maine Department of Labor. All workers have the right to a safe work environment,” said Michael Roland, Director of MDOLs Bureau of Labor Standards. “Most Maine employers comply with the nearly identical state and federal legal restrictions designed to protect the health, safety, and education of our minors. However, we have also been observing a marked increase in the numbers of work permits denied, violations of child-protective labor laws, and most disturbingly, in reported injuries to minors in Maines workplaces.”
Employers in Maine and throughout the country are experiencing a tight labor market, and as a result are relying more heavily on younger workers to meet their workforce needs. Applications for minor work permits in Maine increased nearly 75% between 2017 and 2022. So far in 2023, the Department has received over 4,700 work permit applications. Of those, about 200 have been denied due to the application being for a hazardous occupation not allowed under the law.
Most concerning is the concurrent rise in injuries of employed youth. Reports of injuries to minors in the workplace has doubled over the past decade, from 162 in 2012 to 325 in 2022, according to Workers Compensation data.
In the second quarter of 2023, the Department completed three separate investigations involving youth workers that were injured performing prohibited hazardous occupations.
Source: ME DOL