A...market-research company is appealing one of the largest civil penalties ever assessed by the U.S. Department of Labor for alleged violations of child-labor rules. The department's Wage and Hour Division said Western Wats Center ...must pay a whopping $552,750 in civil penalties...The department says the company violated child-labor provisions by employing 1,482 minors and not following the rules on wages and how many hours youthful employees are allowed to work. Three of the employees were 13; the rest were 14 and 15..."We received notice of the finding a couple of weeks ago," Western Wats attorney Stacey Jenkins said Tuesday. "We have filed an appeal with the Department of Labor. Western Wats does not agree with the DOL finding."