Ashland City Sawmill Fined for Overtime, Child Labor Violations

An Ashland City sawmill will have to pay out nearly $12,000 in fines and back wages, following an investigation by the US Department of Labor.

Investigators say they found Tennessee Timber and Lumber employed a 14 year old to use a chainsaw and load scrap wood into a chipper. Federal law says only those over 18 can do such dangerous tasks. The probe also found the sawmill wasn’t paying workers overtime, but falsified payroll records to make it look like it did. Even doing that, the company only logged half the overtime the employees actually worked.

The Labor Department says Tennessee Timber and Lumber has paid nearly $3,800 in back wages to the workers. The company will also pay a $7,800 fine.