Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Department of Labor is fining a Nevada-based Blaze Pizza franchisee, Bryz Guyz Inc., $277,000 for violations of child labor law involving 28 workers under the age of 18, the DOL announced Monday. The franchisee operates 10 locations in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada.
- The DOL alleges the franchisee employed 23 workers between the ages of 15 and 17 to operate industrial dough mixers, and that the franchisee employed five 15-year-old workers for more hours and later at night on school days than is permitted by federal labor standards.
- In recent years, DOL investigations of child labor have increased. Fiscal year 2023 saw the most DOL child labor investigations (955) involving the largest number of children (5,792) and the most money assessed in civil penalties by the department in such cases ($8 million) in at least the last decade, according to data published by the DOL.
Dive Insight:
The DOL and other regulators, have hit a number of restaurant chains with child labor fines in recent years. Last year, the DOL alleged a McDonald’s franchisee was using children as young as 10 years old as workers. That case, and others like it, prompted McDonald’s to survey its franchisees about labor practices at the end of 2023. Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers was fined $119,000 in 2023 for child labor violations by the DOL, while the Washington, D.C., attorney general extracted more than $300,000 in civil penalties from Chipotle in a child labor settlement.
Additionally, the DOL said Bryz Guys violated federal law when it allowed five 15-year-old workers to work more than three hours on school days and as late as 10:30 p.m. Federal law bars the employment of 14- and 15-year-olds past 7 p.m. from the day after Labor Day through May 31, according to the press release announcing the fine against Bryz Guyz.
Blaze Pizza, in an email to Restaurant Dive, wrote “our franchisee cooperated fully with the investigation and has adhered to all state and federal labor laws since May 2023.”
The DOL highlighted the resources it offers to employers to avoid running afoul of federal labor law.
“We continue to provide outreach and training to employers nationwide on compliance with federal wage and child labor laws,” the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division District Director, Gene Ramos, said. In particular, the DOL pointed to its YouthRules initiative, which provides information on employment best practices.