Meat processor ordered to pay fines after teen lost hand in grinder
Meat processor ordered to pay fines after teen lost hand in grinder
The owner of a meat business in western Michigan has been ordered to pay nearly $1,200 after a 17-year-old worker lost his hand in a grinder.
The fine is $1,143 BTW
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Republican shithole states where children, especially those of minorities and immigrants, are literal grist for the mil
Michigan is a Republican shithole state?
you're absolutely correct, no, it isn't which makes this worse, i can't read anymore fucking articles about how child labor is becoming the norm again, on top of everything else, it's all just too much so i assumed
FWIW, the incident in question happened in 2019, so it's not anything happening due to the current climate. And while the owner should have ensured the kid had a work permit, the kid was already a high school dropout, so might not have had any way to get a work permit legally anyway. At some point, people still need to eat. I've read several articles at this point and it feels like there's some grey in here somewhere that I just don't know enough to be able to form an opinion on.
While this is pretty awful and shouldn't have happened, I don't think I'd advocate that a 17 year old shouldn't be allowed to have any job at all. I think they should be paid normal minimum wage, same as any other employee, and there should be jobs that they can't do due to age (such as this one), but I wouldn't stop it altogether.
That said, I'm completely fine with increasing the fines for employing a minor in a dangerous profession though, which is apparently the charge that the owner plead guilty to. Fines for employers who break the law should be increased in general, especially when it puts workers in danger.