Teens were allowed to drill near dynamite at Georgia demolition firm, feds say
Three teenage employees were allowed to work and drill near dynamite for a Georgia demolition and construction contractor, according to federal labor officials.
The contractor is now accused of violating child labor laws as the 16 and 17-year-olds were not old enough to work where explosives are made and kept, the Department of Labor said in a June 28 news release. Eighteen is the minimum age to work near explosives.
The contractor, Controlled Blasting Inc., based in Winder, was ordered to pay $5,592 in response to the violations after an investigation revealed the teens were working where dynamite was both kept and transported, according to the agency.
McClatchy News contacted the firm for comment on June 28 and was awaiting a response.
Controlled Blasting Inc., which describes its team as “the explosives experts” online and has been in operation since 1973, had the teenage workers help directly with demolition efforts, the Labor Department said. While working on jobs around Lawrenceville, the teens would drill holes and cover them up so dynamite could get placed.
The agency’s Wage and Hour Division began investigating the firm in September 2021 and looked back into incidents that took place as early as October 2019, spokesperson Eric R. Lucero told McClatchy News in a statement.
Lucero declined to comment on how the investigation began and added that the teenagers were not injured while working near dynamite.
“Employers struggling to fill open positions have increased the numbers of teens in jobs not traditionally occupied by young workers,” Steven Salazar, the agency’s Wage and Hour Division director in Atlanta, said in a statement.
“Businesses who employ minor-aged workers must educate themselves on keeping these workers safe, especially those around hazardous conditions.”
While employees under 18 cannot work near explosives, child labor laws do make exception for them to work in shops that sell ammunition and guns, according to the Labor Department.
Winder is roughly 50 miles northeast of Atlanta.
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