The franchisee of six McDonald's restaurants in Erie County and one in Warren has paid $92,107 in civil penalties for violating child-labor laws over two years, the U.S. Department of Labor said.

The department said the Erie-based DuCharme Organization allowed 154 14- and 15-year-olds to work at unauthorized times and for too many hours per week over two years from June 2020 to June 2022.

The DuCharme Organization and its owner, Thomas DuCharme Jr., paid the penalties, the Department of Labor said in a news release.

The DuCharme Organization, which does business as TBLN LLC, "also assigned nine workers under age 16 to operate deep fryers in violation of federal law," the department said.

Thomas DuCharme said he has fixed the workplace issues.

"As a small business owner, I take my role in the community seriously, and I'm deeply committed to the safety and well-being of all my employees," he said in a statement on Thursday. "I have since adopted several enhanced processes to address scheduling issues and to ensure my organization is meeting the high standards to which we hold ourselves."

Violations at 6 Erie locations, 1 in Warren

The Department of Labor said the violations occurred at these McDonald's locations:

• 1115 Sassafras St., Erie — 13 workers affected.

• 2065 Interchange Road, Millcreek Township — 24 workers affected.

• 903 Peninsula Drive, Millcreek — 23 workers affected.

• 2529 Broad St., Erie — 29 workers affected.

• 4316 Buffalo Road, Harborcreek Township — 29 workers affected.

• 7200 Peach St., Summit Township — nine workers affected.

• 75 Market St., Warren — 27 workers affected.

The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division investigated the violations. According to the department, the DuCharme Organization allowed minors to work illegally by having them on the job:

• Before 7 a.m., more than 3 hours per day and after 7 p.m. on school days.

• Later than 9 p.m. on days between June 1 and Labor Day, when they may legally work until 9 p.m.

• More than 8 hours on a non-school day, and more than 18 hours a week during a regular school week.

Investigators also found that nine minors younger than 16 were allowed to operate deep fryers at two of the McDonald's in violation of federal regulations for occupational standards for 14- and 15-year-olds, according to the department. Workers younger than 16 are prohibited from using manual deep fryers not equipped with automatic fry baskets that move food into and out of cooking oil or grease, the department said.

Violations started as pandemic created worker shortages

The violations occurred between June 21, 2020, June 12, 2022, a Department of Labor spokeswoman told the Erie Times-News. She said the department does not disclose information about what leads the Wage and Hour Division to launch a probe.

The violations at the McDonald's started shortly after DuCharme said he needed to hire at least 300 workers during the pandemic. He said the initiative was aimed at people who had lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

"We are in a very difficult and uncertain time," DuCharme said in an article published on June 9, 2020, in the Erie Times-News. "Because the local economy has taken a major hit, we are announcing this initiative to immediately provide work for those who need it most."

Looking for records:McDonald’s hopes to hire 300 in Erie region

'There is no excuse for jeopardizing young workers’ safety'

The Department of Labor said child-labor law violations are on the rise.

"Since 2018, we have seen an alarming increase in the number of young workers employed in violation of federal child labor laws," Wage and Hour District Director John DuMont, of Pittsburgh, said in a statement. "Every employer who hires young workers must know when they can and cannot work, the types of jobs they can do and what tasks they can be safely assigned.

Another child-labor case:Company hired over 100 children as young as 13 to clean meat processing plants, DOL says

"The bottom line is that there is no excuse for jeopardizing young workers’ safety or hindering their educational opportunities," DuMont said. "Young workers, their parents and other stakeholders should use our online tools or contact the Wage and Hour Division for guidance, compliance assistance or other resources."

Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNpalattella.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie, Warren McDonald's franchisee hit with child-labor law violations