The Labor Department has fined Houston-area grocer Gerland's Food Fair Inc. US$41,400 for violating child-labor laws on work-time limitations - the same tight restrictions that have prompted many grocers and other retails to shy away from hiring youth who need jobs. Jeff Reeder, executive vice president of the 16-store Gerland's chain, said the fine applied to alleged violations in 1999 and resulted from a misunderstanding and some confusion in the company and some work time-swapping by the chain's former 15-year-old employees.