Wednesday, September 07, 2022

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
Three Pa. Dunkin' Donuts locations fined $24,000 for child work violations


Three Dunkin' Donuts locations in Pennsylvania have been fined more than $24,000 in child labor law violations for allowing teenagers to work longer and later hours. 

File photo by JStone/Shutterstock.com

Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Three Pennsylvania Dunkin' Donuts locations have been fined more than $24,000 for allowing teenagers to work longer and later hours, according to the Labor Department.

A federal investigation found that franchisee Akshar Ashish LLC, who owns the Dunkin' Donuts locations Hershey, Hummelstown and Palmyra, violated child labor laws in the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Labor Department said 14-and-15-year-old employees were allowed to work more than three hours a day on a school day. They also worked past 7 p.m. on a school night and worked more than 18 hours a week during a regular school week.

The Labor Department also found the 39 underaged teens worked more than eight hours on a non-school day and worked past 9 p.m. during summer break.

Akshar Ashish LLC paid $24,332 due to the "willful nature of the violations," according to the department.

"Employers who choose to hire young workers have a legal responsibility to know and abide by the federal laws that govern their employment," said Alfonso Gristina, wage and hour district director in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. "These obligations include ensuring minors only work during permitted hours, so employment does not interfere with their education, health and well-being."

Besides the fine, the Dunkin' Donuts locations will have to conduct child labor training with managers and provide child labor publications to minors under the age of 16 and their guardians. The donut shops have also agreed to require minors to wear different colored name tags so managers can easily identify them as under the age of 16.

Other fast-food chains have faced similar child labor violations for overworking younger teenage employees. A Chick-fil-A in Tampa paid more than $12,000 in fines in August and a Jersey Mike's paid more than $24,000 in June for violations at 10 locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Oregon.

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