Popeyes overworked 13-year-olds with long, late shifts, feds say. Franchisee pays up
Three Popeyes restaurants in California overworked 13-year-olds and other teen employees with shifts that lasted too long and went too late, federal officials said.
The 13-year-olds weren’t old enough to work for the fast food chain, according to the Fair Labor Standards Act, a federal law that only allows minors 14 and older to work non-agricultural jobs.
The Popeyes franchisee in charge of the three Bay Area restaurants in Oakland, Tracy and Newark is accused of violating federal child labor laws, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
This has cost 14th St. Chicken Corp., the Oakland-based operator that does business as Popeyes, more than $100,000 after an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division, a Feb. 7 news release said.
Now, the company has paid $121,104 in civil penalties to address the child labor violations — and nearly $92,000 for other violations, according to the DOL.
McClatchy News contacted Popeyes for comment on Feb. 8 and didn’t receive an immediate response.
Two teenage employees who worked for the Popeyes franchisee had previously filed child labor complaints with the state, the East Bay Times reported. They said one of their co-workers was only 13 when they were working 40 to 45 hours every week with just one day off.
The 13-year-old also worked until midnight during three weeknight shifts as a seventh grade student who had school the next day, the teens reported, according to the newspaper.
Separate from the violations of child labor laws, an investigation found the franchisee didn’t properly pay workers overtime at the three Popeyes restaurants, officials said.
As a result, the company has paid $39,826 to 15 employees for unpaid overtime wages, an equal amount in damages to 15 employees and $12,104 in civil penalties for the overtime violations, the DOL said.
The Wage and Hour Division has previously cited 14th St. Chicken Corp. in 2003 and 2022 for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act at the Popeyes locations in Oakland and Tracy, according to officials.
Throughout the U.S., child labor violations have been on the rise, with 955 cases uncovered in 2023, according to the DOL. This is 14% more cases compared to 2022 and 88% more compared to 2019.
“The U.S. Department of Labor is determined to fight child labor violations in all sectors, including the fast-food industry,” Wage and Hour Division Assistant District Director Alberto Raymond in San Francisco said in a statement.
“Child labor laws protect minors and help ensure young workers enjoy positive workplace experiences without jeopardizing their education,” Raymond added.
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