Dave & Buster’s to pay $275K over meal break, child labor violations at Mass. locations, AG says
Dave & Buster’s has agreed to pay $275,000 to workers to resolve allegations of meal break and child labor violations, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced Thursday.
The chain, which operates locations in Braintree, Natick, and Woburn, will accept three citations for violating state law by not providing meal breaks of at least 30 minutes to employees who worked shifts lasting longer than six hours, not obtaining work permits for minors before they began employment, and by employing minors for later hours than permitted by law, according to Campbell’s office.
“When companies violate our laws to protect workers, including meal break and child labor violations they create unfair and unsafe working environments,” Campbell said in a statement. “Ensuring that employers are in compliance with these laws and that all employees are compensated and treated justly is an important priority for my office, and we will do everything we can to uphold and protect the rights of workers in Massachusetts.”
The AG’s office said it launched an investigation into Dave & Buster’s following a complaint from a parent who alleged that their child was made to work past midnight on a weeknight, as well as a complaint alleging denial of statutory meal breaks.
The investigation is said to have revealed that employees regularly worked shifts of more than six hours without meal breaks and that Dave & Buster’s employed several minors without work permits, in addition to employing underage employees for later hours than permitted by state statute.
Children who are 16 and 17 years old may not work later than 10 p.m. on school nights.
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