Article

Wendy's to pay $400K to settle Massachusetts child labor issues

Wendy's has changed its child labor practices following a investigation by the Massachusetts attorney general.

Photo: iStock

February 19, 2020 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said the AG reached a $400,000 settlement with Wendy's International LLC to resolve allegations that the company violated child labor laws at its 46 corporate-owned locations across the state. The attorney general said Wendy's allowed 16- and 17-year old employees to work too many hours, according to the attorney general's website. 

Wendy's is just one of several limited-service brands in the state that have recently been found in violation of child labor laws there. In 2019 the attorney general issued 41 citations for child labor law violations totaling more than $487,000 in penalties. 

The AG recently resolved several child labor investigations, including citing fast casual brand, Chipotle, $2 million for an estimated 13,253 child labor violations and other state wage and hour law violations, and citing another fast casual chain, Qdoba, $400,000 for more than 1,000 child labor law violations at its 22 corporate-owned locations in Massachusetts, the site said. 

The AG's office opened its investigation into Wendy's practices after receiving a complaint from a minor employed at a Wendy's in Worcester alleging that minor employees were working too late into the evening and too many hours per day.

"Employers have a duty to follow our child labor laws and protect their young employees," said AG Healey, on the website release. "Wendy's came into compliance as a result of our investigation and took meaningful steps to ensure a safe and productive work environment for its young workers."

The AG's office estimated more than 2,100 violations at Wendy's locations in the state. After authorities told Wendy's of their investigation's findings, the attorney general said company changed its practices, including:

• Modifying its scheduling system to flag minor scheduling issues for managers.
• Issuing all minor employees a red visor to indicate to managers that they are under 18.
• Including child labor processes in daily checklists for managers.
• Undertaking significant training and auditing efforts. 
• Implementing a national child labor audit and compliance program.

As part of the settlement, $200,000 of Wendy's payment will be directed to a fund administered by the AG's Office to benefit young people through education programs about child labor and enforcement of the laws, as well as training and workforce development for young workers. ,

"We are committed to being a responsible employer, with the goal that all employees have a rewarding experience as valued members of our team," Wendy's said in an emailed statement. "As reflected in our interactions with the Massachusetts' Attorney General's Office, we take this matter very seriously and appreciated their input and partnership throughout the process."

In Massachusetts, children under 18 may not work more than nine hours in a day or more than 48 hours in a week. Fourteen- and 15-year-old children may not work later than 7 p.m. and 16- and 17-year-old children may not work later than 10 p.m. on a night preceding a school day, or later than midnight preceding a non-school day. State law also requires employers to have work permits on file for all workers under 18 years of age.

Last month, a Wendy's franchisee based in Louisville, Kentucky, named Manna, Inc. was found by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division to have violated child labor mandates at its stores in several states, by allowing 14- and 15-year-old employees to both work at times not legally allowed and for more hours than law permits. As a result, the franchisee of 99 locations of those brands in nine states has been fined $157,114. 

Investigators found 446 minors worked at legally prohibited times for employed individuals of their ages, including before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. on school nights. The release said the division found that that group of minors also worked more than three hours on school days or more than eight hours on non-school days, all violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

About S.A. Whitehead

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Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb editor Shelly Whitehead is a former newspaper and TV reporter with an affinity for telling stories about the people and innovative thinking behind great brands.