A North Carolina Chick-fil-A franchisee was fined more than $6,000 after letting teenagers use hazardous machinery and paying workers with meals, a federal investigation found.
U.S. Department of Labor investigators found that Good Name 22:1 LLC of Hendersonville, N.C., allowed three workers under the age of 18 to either operate, load or unload a trash compactor, all violations of federal child labor regulations that prohibit employing minors to perform hazardous jobs.
The department’s Wage and Hour Division investigators found the employer also paid certain employees – who were asked to direct traffic – to work for meal vouchers rather than wages, in violation of minimum wage provisions of the FLSA.
The company was assessed $6,450 in penalties to address the child labor violations and directed to pay $235 in back wages to seven employees.
“Protecting our youngest workers continues to be a top priority for the Wage and Hour Division,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Richard Blaylock in Raleigh. “Child labor laws ensure that when young people work, the work does not jeopardize their health, well-being or educational opportunities. In addition, employers are responsible to pay workers for all of the hours worked and the payment must be made in cash or legal tender.”
In August, another Chick-Fil-A in Tampa, Florida, paid $12,478 in civil money penalties after division investigators found the employer allowed 17 workers, ages 14- and 15-years-old, to work past 7 p.m. and more than 3 hours during school days.
