Sonic locations in Kansas paid roughly $140k for violating child labor laws, official says
The owner of a Newton-based business that has 17 Sonic Drive-In locations in Kansas has paid just over $139,000 in civil penalties after violating child labor laws, including ones found after he had already been found violating the laws, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday.
The violations involve allowing children, ages 14 and 15, to work later and more hours in a week than allowed. It also involved allowing children under the age of 16 to operate fryers without an automatic device to lower the fry baskets, the DOL said in a news release.
The violations happened at locations in Valley Center, Hutchinson, McPherson and Newton.
Richard Benard, the owner of Newton-based BBR Investments, did not immediately return a call Thursday afternoon. A person who answered the phone just after noon said he was on a conference call and would have to call back.
Benard was issued a civil penalty of just under $42,000 in September after federal investigators found he allowed 50 teens, ages 14 and 15, to work later and more hours in a week than law permits, the news release says. It happened at Sonic locations in Hutchinson, McPherson and Newton.
Federal officials did another investigation on October 7 and found violations at the Valley Center, Hutchinson, McPherson and Newton locations.
“This investigation found BBR continuing to allow 44 child labor violations like those found in prior investigations,” the DOL said in a news release. “The division also determined that children under age 16 operated fryers without automatic devices to lower and lift fry baskets, which is prohibited under federal law.”
An additional $97,070 penalty was assessed. The total penalties, totaling $139,068, have been paid, the news release said.
BBR’s websites says the owners are Rusty Billigton, Rick Benard and Max Rickerson. Benard is the only person named as the owner in the news release.
In additional to the fine, a judge issued an order in May that requires BBR and Benard to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The FLSA requires employees ages 14 and 15 to work only:
Outside of school hours
No more than three hours on a school day and eight hours on a non-school day
No more than 18 hours a week during school and no more than 40 hours when school isn’t in session
Only between the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Between June 1 to Labor Day the evening hour is extended to 9 p.m.
