Wisconsin boy killed in sawmill accident was doing work allowed by state law, records suggest

By HARM VENHUIZEN
Associated Press/Report for America

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A 16-year-old boy killed by an accident at a Wisconsin sawmill appears to have been doing work allowed by state child labor laws when he was injured. Police records obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday show that Michael Schuls was attempting to unjam a wood-stacking machine when the conveyor belt he was standing on moved and pinned him in the machine. Child labor laws prohibit minors from working in most areas of logging and sawmills, but in Wisconsin, kids 16 and older are allowed to work in planing mills like the one where Schuls was injured. His death comes as lawmakers in several states including Wisconsin are pushing to loosen child labor restrictions.