Two area Dunkin' stores violate child-labor laws; owner pays $41,000 federal fine
Editor's note: This story was updated at 9:11 a.m. on March 17, 2023, to clarify how many of the Dunkin' stores had child-labor law violations.
The owner and operator of several Tri-State area Dunkin' franchises has paid a $41,181 fine and signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor to prevent future child-labor violations, according to a federal news release.
The child-labor violations involved 19 minors, ages 14 and 15, who were "unlawfully permitted" to operate baking ovens and work outside permissible hours between November 2020 and November 2022, according to the news release and a labor department spokesperson.
The violations occurred at a Hagerstown-area store and a Berkeley County, W.Va., store.
But the enhanced compliance agreement between the labor department and the Brookeville, Md.-based enterprise owned and operated by Nikkil Patel involves eight Dunkin' restaurants he owns in three states.
The stores are at:
18233 Maugans Ave. north of Hagerstown
13108 Pennsylvania Ave. north of Hagerstown
18216 Oak Ridge Drive in Halfway
1900 E. Main St. in Waynesboro, Pa.
88 Corporate Blvd. West, Falling Waters, W.Va.
42 Vantage View Drive near Falling Waters
39 Severna Parkway, Suite 1, north of Martinsburg, W.Va.
980 Foxcroft Drive, Martinsburg
Patel could not be immediately reached for comment. A person who answered the phone at the Halfway store said Thursday they would forward a message to Patel. A person who twice answered the phone at the Maugans Avenue store hung up both times when a reporter attempted to reach Patel for comment.
An email to Dunkin's corporate offices was also not immediately returned.
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“The kinds of violations in this case, and potential for minors suffering injuries as a result, are wholly preventable,” Nicholas Fiorello, wage and hour district director in Baltimore, said in the federal news release. “We encourage business owners who employ young workers and those who supervise them to familiarize themselves with federal child labor laws to avoid potentially costly consequences.”
No minors were injured on the job in this case, according to an email from labor department spokesperson Leni Fortson.
The two Dunkin' franchises' child-labor violations included allowing the teenagers to work:
More than three hours a day on a school day
More than 18 hours a week during a regular school week
More than eight hours on a nonschool day
After 7 p.m. on a school night
After 9 p.m. during summer break
The franchises' actions violated child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act that prohibit minors younger than 16 from all baking and most cooking activities, the release states.
The federal department's Wage and Hour Division initiated its investigation in September, Fortson wrote. The department does not reveal how or why a specific investigation began, she wrote.
As a result of the investigation, the employer paid the civil financial penalty to resolve the violations, the release states. The penalty was part of the enhanced compliance agreement that is meant to ensure future compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act at all of the business' locations.
According to the release, the employer also agreed to:
Provide supervisors and managers with child-labor training
Supply minors younger than 16 and their parents/guardians with child-labor publications
Establish a dedicated internal phone number for employees to report child-labor violations anonymously
Store managers also are being provided a way to easily identify minors younger than 16 while they are working, "to ensure they do not perform prohibited activities," the release states. Signs and stickers are to be put on hazardous equipment to help reduce potential risk.
The labor department has seen a "sharp increase" in child-labor violations, the release states. Last year, the Wage and Hour Division published best practices for employers with child laborers.
The division also offers free webinars for employers, parents and young workers to learn about youth employment protections.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Dunkin' franchises owner fined for federal child-labor violations
