One of our favorite online gossip rags is under fire for videotaping some octo-babies.
RadarOnline has been hit with four child-labor law citations, which carry fines totaling about $3,000, for recording video of two of Nadya Suleman's octuplets, according to Dean Fryer of the state Department of Industrial Relations.
"State Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet said Tuesday that the website RadarOnline put the newborns at risk by failing to get required state permits and videotaping the infants at hours and for periods of time banned by regulations," the Associated Press reported.
Those rules are intended to protect the health and safety of the children, according to the AP.
Suleman has an exclusive relationship with RadarOnline, where she blogs for the site and permits videotaping of her children. A spokeswoman for RadarOnline said no one with the website had seen any of the paperwork and had no further comment.
According to the DIR, RadarOnline:
- failed to have a permit for employing minors, which is punishable by a $500 fine;
- failed to have an entertainment permit and, since there were two children involved, the fine would be $1,000;
- working outside the hours allowed, also punishable by two $500 fines; and
- failed to have a teacher on site, which is punishable by a $500 fine. On-set teachers are responsible for looking after a child's health and well-being.
Infants are only allowed in front of a camera between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. and between 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.; in each window, the actual work cannot exceed 20 minutes, Fryer said.
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Fryer said RadarOnline had not made a formal response but has 15 working days -- or until July 7 -- to appeal the citations to the state Labor Commission.
RadarOnline is owned by American Media Inc., the same company that owns the National Enquirer and other tabloids.
