In
Denmark v. Industrial Manufacturing Specialists, Inc., [Ms. 2101113, Jun. 8, 2012] __ So. 3d __(Ala. Civ. App. 2012), the Alabama
Court of Civil Appeals addressed whether the plaintiff was entitled to
double compensation because his employer was violating child labor laws
at the time the plaintiff was injured. The Workers' Compensation Act
states: "If at the time of injury the minor was employed in violation
of or contrary to the law regulating the employment or any part thereof,
then the compensation shall be two times what it would be if the employment
had been legal." Ala. Code ¤ 25-5-34. Alabama's child
labor laws prohibit any person under 18 years of age from being employed
to operate a band saw. Ala. Code ¤ 24-8-43(a)(16). The trial court
found that the employer allowed the sixteen-year-old plaintiff to operate
a band saw in clear violation of ¤ 25-8-43(a)(16). However, it
held that "because [Plaintiff] was not actually operating the band
saw at the time of the accident and because the band saw was not the source
of his injuries," "there was 'no nexus or causal connection'
between [Plaintiff's] injuries and the activity prohibited by ¤
25-8-43(a)(16)." As a result, the trial court held that the plaintiff
was not entitled to double compensation pursuant to Ala. Code ¤
25-5-34. The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals reversed. At the time of the
accident, the plaintiff was maneuvering a 1,300 pound length of bar stock
so it could be cut with a band saw. The Court held: "Although [Plaintiff]
was not cut or otherwise injured by the band-saw blades, he was nonetheless
working at a job that minors are prohibited from performing when the accident
occurred." As a result, the Court ordered that the employer pay double
compensation.
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