15-year-old workers used oven at Little Caesars, feds say. Now owners face hefty fines
The owners of seven Little Caesars franchises in Tennessee have been accused by federal officials of violating child labor laws and underpaying their staff.
Now they’re facing more than $162,000 in penalties.
The U.S. Department of Labor levied the fines after investigators said the franchise owners allowed 15-year-old employees to use “hazardous” equipment and work long hours during the school week. Officials said the violations occurred at seven locations in Antioch, Columbia, Franklin and Nashville.
“Child labor laws are intended to ensure young workers obtain valuable work experience safely without interfering with their safety and education,” said Juan Coria, regional administrator for the Wage and Hour Division in Atlanta.
Officials identified the franchise owners as JJ Pizza Service LLC and S&S Pizza LLC, neither of which could be reached for comment.
A Little Caesars spokesperson did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on March 31.
According to the Labor Department, investigators noted the Little Caesars franchise owners didn’t account for all the hours their employees worked and failed to pay them minimum wage and overtime as a result. They recovered roughly $1,625 in back wages for 21 workers as a result.
Investigators also saw 15-year-old employees “preparing food for baking, removing food from ovens and operating a vertical stand-up mixing machine” — activities labor officials consider to be “hazardous.”
“In addition, the employers scheduled 15-year-old employees to work after 7 p.m. and more than 18 hours in a school week, as well as past 9 p.m. and more than 40 hours in a week when school was not in session — all violations of the federal child labor standards,” officials said.
According to federal regulation, 14- and 15-year-olds can work “non-hazardous jobs” for a limited number of hours, namely:
Three hours on a school day
18 hours in a school week
Eight hours on a non-school day
40 hours in a non-school week
Between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., except from June 1 to Labor Day, when those work hours are extended to 9 p.m.
The Department of Labor issued a $161,050 civil penalty against the Little Caesars owners for the alleged child labor violations.
In the last two years, officials said they have found child labor violations among more than 190 food service workers across the Southeast. Employers have had to pay more than $1 million in fines as a result.
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