This is one sour note that would even make “American Idol” loser Sanjaya cringe.
The New York State Department of Labor (DOL) last week announced it reached a settlement with 19 Touring L.L.C., the parent company for the American Idols Live Tour 2007, totaling $5,000 for various child labor violations.
“This settlement should serve as a strong reminder that the Labor Department is aggressively enforcing the state”™s labor laws that protect all workers, especially children,” said labor Commissioner Patricia Smith in a statement.
The DOL claimed that there were two minors working in the American Idols Live Tour 2007 who did not have Child Performer Certificates. Additionally, 19 Touring did not possess a current “certificate of eligibility to employ child performers” that serves to notify the state when an employer is using child performers, said the DOL. This certificate is meant to ensure employers comply with child labor, workers”™ compensation and other laws.
The New York State Child Performer Law is designed to protect children less than18 who render artistic or creative services and either live or work in the state, said Smith. This law ensures that child performers receive a proper education and are not impaired by the demands of their performance work. It also requires that a minimum 15 percent of the child”™s earnings is saved in a trust fund until he or she is 18. This marks the first settlement under the Child Performer Labor Law, which was amended in 2003.
19 Touring was found to have a total 16 violations for employment of a minor without proper paperwork and not possessing a certificate of eligibility, said the DOL. The American Idols Tour 2007 was in New York state Aug. 23, 24 and 30, and Sept. 2 in various venues.
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