An American distribution centre has been fined for employing children to drive forklifts and pick orders.

The United States Department of Labour says Win.IT America Inc employed children as young as 11 to work in its warehouse in Hebron, Kentucky.

The department obtained a federal court judgement that requires the warehouse operator to cease employing children illegally.

Investigators had found the company employed two children, aged 11 and 13, at its distribution centre.

One of the children operated a forklift, a hazardous occupation for workers under 18 under US regulations, the Department of Labour says in a statement.

The other child picked orders in the warehouse, a prohibited occupation for workers under 16.

The company also employed both children for more hours than legally allowed and violated federal regulations that forbid employing workers aged under 14 years in non-agricultural occupations.

In addition to ordering the company to comply with federal child labour regulations, the court ordered Win.IT America to pay USD30,276 in civil penalties and to hire a third-party consultant to provide semi-annual compliance training for all management personnel for a period of three years.

“When we find child labour violations, the Department of Labour will not hesitate to use all enforcement tools available to compel compliance, including stopping the shipment of goods created and produced while the business was breaking the law to do so,” says Howard Tremelle, the Atlanta Regional Solicitor.

In 2022, the U.S. Department of Labour uncovered child labour violations involving 3,876 children, an increase of more than 60% over the past five years. As a result, the department issued more than USD4.3 million in money.

Founded in October 2013, Win.IT America Inc. is the U.S. branch of WinIT Information Technology Company, a Shanghai, China-based integrated supply chain solutions provider with more than 700 employees in the U.S., Australia, Germany and Great Britain.