Teen worker's fall from New Castle roof finds Georgia contractor violated child labor and overtime laws

NEW CASTLE, Pa. (KDKA) - A federal investigation into why a 17-year-old worker fell from a roof in New Castle last year also revealed that a Georgia contractor failed to pay dozens of employees full wages, the U.S. Department of Labor said on Tuesday. 

The 17-year-old was doing work that violated child labor laws when he fell 24 feet from the roof of a Lowe's store New Castle in October, a press release said. He suffered minor injuries. 

The department said JVS Roofing of Jonesboro, Georgia, hired the teen for roofing work, which is defined as hazardous for young workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

While investigating, the department said its Wage and Hour Division found JVS misclassified 30 workers as independent contractors, illegally exempting them from overtime and shortchanging workers an average of $3,000.

The division said it recovered more than $92,000 in back wages for the affected workers and the company was fined $6,000 for the child labor violation. The department also proposed more than $16,000 in penalties for four safety violations, which the company paid.