Four Massachusetts Dunkin' Donuts' franchisees have been ordered to pay more than $13,000 in fines after the state attorney general cited them for child labor violations, including employing minors without work permits.
An investigation also found minors working later than permissible and more than the maximum number of hours allowed per day.
According to the Boston Globe, the citations covered two separate incidents. The first, involving business partners Timothy E. Cloe and Sebastion Agapite, uncovered violations at their five units in Dartmouth, Fall River, Westport and Fairhaven, Mass.
The second involved business partners James Carafotes and Dinart Serpa, and multiple violations at five stores in Fiskdale, Oxford, Sturbridge and Southbridge, Mass.
Diabetic woman sues Dunkin' Donuts over sweet coffee
Another Dunkin' Donuts unit, in the Philadelphia market, has been sued for serving coffee that sent a customer into a diabetic coma.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, 47-year-old Danielle Jordan filed a personal injury lawsuit against the unit and its operator Northeast Donut Shops Management Corp.
According to the filing, a server added sugar to her coffee, which caused her to become light-headed, dizzy and numb and, ultimately put her into a diabetic shock. After a visit to a local emergency room, Jordan's diabetic medication was increased and she "sustained a loss of life's enjoyment."
She is seeking unspecified damages from the coffee ordered in June 2009.
