Company fined after 17-year-old hurt on cutting machine

KNOXVILLE (AP) — Federal officials said Monday they have fined a Maryville company for allowing a 17-year-old employee to operate a power-driven cutting machine that sliced off her hand during an accident.

DLJ Enterprises, also known as Altr-Eco Pallets, was fined $10,670 by the U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act, which bans certain types of work for employees under age 18. Altr-Eco makes wooden pallets for industrial customers.

Maria Elvia Alvarez was feeding wood into a machine called a mauler in March 2004 when the machine grabbed some loose threads on her frayed gloves and dragged her hand into the cutters.

The girl’s father, Luis Alvarez, sued the company last year for $2 million in damages. Maria Elvia Alvarez was one of a handful of illegal immigrants working for the company at the time, according to the lawsuit.