Fast Food Chains That Have Been Caught Violating Child Labor Laws

When many teens decide to join the working world for the first time, they turn to the food service industry. Although fast food restaurants have consistently been a popular choice for young job seekers, these establishments have recently begun hiring more minor workers than ever. According to Restaurant Dive, a study revealed that teenagers made up 24% of the limited-service restaurant workforce in 2021. With numbers that high, U.S. restaurants are far more likely to receive service from a teen at their favorite fast food restaurants now than in the past.  

It's well known that working for fast food chains isn't glamorous, and the minimum-wage pay leaves much to be desired, even for teens. However, child labor laws protect young employees from exploitation and unsafe working conditions. At least, that is how they are designed to function in ideal circumstances. Unfortunately, the U.S. Department of Labor has caught many fast food chains violating these necessary regulations in the post-pandemic world. Across the country, investigations have revealed underage workers operating unsafe equipment, working long hours, and even being denied proper compensation. 

Since independent franchisees operate most fast food locations, these incidents are often isolated to specific regions and restaurant groups. The guilty parties pay fines of up to $11,000 per minor employee for failing to adhere to child labor laws. However, with massive labor shortages plaguing the industry and many states pushing for more lax child labor policies, these violations will likely continue to make headlines for the foreseeable future.

Culver's is a Wisconsin original that has been in business since 1984 and is well-known for its fried cheese curds. Like most fast food restaurant chains, Culver's employs underage workers at many of its restaurants. A TikTok user called out the chain for hiring employees as young as 14, but this is a relatively common practice in the industry. However, the conduct of one Michigan-based franchisee regarding its minor employees is not so common for this relatively small company. 

During a 2023 investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Divison found that the franchisee did not adhere to statutes that protect minors from working overly long shifts. For instance, 14 and 15-year-old employees at the restaurant routinely worked more than 18 hours per week during the school year, which exceeds legal limits. These violations impacted 18 young employees and led the division to impose fines of $13,212. 

The New Jersey-based chain sandwich shop Jersey Mike's began as a single location in 1956 and now has franchise locations across multiple states. Unfortunately, a handful of its over 2000 restaurants have been cited for child labor law violations. For example, a 2022 Department of Labor news release revealed that multiple restaurants did not maintain proper records to verify the ages of their minor employees. The offending restaurants also allowed those workers to stay later than 7:00 PM on school nights and past 9:00 PM during their summer break. 

All of the impacted employees in this investigation were under 16. Based on federal regulations, they should therefore have been limited to three-hour shifts during the school year. The investigation spanned ten New Jersey, Oregon, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania locations. As a result of these violations, the Wage and Hour Division assessed nearly $25,000 in fines to the franchisee. 

Popular fast food chain Arby's is renowned for its iconic seasoned curly fries and variety of tasty sandwiches. However, although Arby's "may have the meats," the chain also has issues abiding by child labor regulations. In 2023, multiple restaurants in South Carolina came under fire when the U.S. Department of Labor discovered that 65 teenagers were working more hours than legally permissible. A single franchisee operated all the offending restaurants across nine cities, including Columbia and Piedmont. 

The investigation revealed that the teenage employees worked longer shifts than they should have and stayed at work later than allowable on school nights. The employees in question were all under 16 years old. According to South Carolina labor standards, they should only have worked three hours daily on school days and ended their shifts by 7:00 PM. Ultimately, the franchisee faced over $47,000 worth of fines as punishment for its illegal actions.

The longstanding sandwich shop Subway is one of the most widespread fast food chains in the U.S. and employs its fair share of teen workers. However, some of its franchisees have failed to do so responsibly. In 2019. the Department of Labor investigated four Wisconsin Subway restaurants and learned that some teenage employees were unlawfully operating restaurant equipment deemed unsafe for minors, including toaster ovens. Department representatives also cited the franchise for failure to adhere to record-keeping standards for underage employees. 

Although the franchisee, in this case, was cooperative, another Subway employer tried to interfere with Wage and Hour Division investigations in 2023. According to a news release, the California-based franchisee routinely ordered teen workers to operate hazardous equipment, including cardboard balers. Even more disturbing, investigators discovered that the employer threatened young workers and any other employees who cooperated with the investigation. The Department of Labor sought an injunction against the non-compliant franchisee to ensure its investigation could continue unhindered.

Patrons may love cold brews and lattes from Dunkin, but they probably don't love the number of child labor violations some of the chain's franchisees have incurred. For example, the Department of Labor cited a Massachusetts-based franchisee for 1200 violations across its fourteen Dunkin restaurants. The franchisee faces $145,00 worth of fines in connection with these infractions, which include a lack of work permits for minors and improper employee supervision. In 2023, two more Massachusetts franchisees also accumulated $370,000 in penalties for allowing teens to work outside of allowable hours and without an adult on the premises. 

However, the child labor violations in New England Dunkin restaurants don't stop there. A 2022 Department of Labor investigation uncovered infractions in restaurants operated by a Vermont-based franchisee, including allowing minors to use prohibited equipment. Sadly, six young employees suffered burn injuries while operating this equipment. The investigation also revealed that a teen employee was unlawfully permitted to drive between two restaurant locations.  

Disregarding child labor laws is a severe offense for any fast food restaurant. However, in some instances, these violations are just one part of a more significant legal issue. For example, two Little Caesars franchisees in Tennessee faced multiple penalties from the Department of Labor, including allowing minors to work overly lengthy shifts during the school year and more than 40 hours per week while not in school. The franchisees also permitted teens to use prohibited kitchen equipment, such as stand mixers and pizza ovens. 

Not only were these franchisees potentially endangering young employees, but they were also not correctly paying some of their workers. According to the department's findings, the employers didn't track all their employees' hours, thus denying them proper compensation. Ultimately, the employers owed the affected workers over $1600 in missing wages. Additionally, they were ordered to pay $161,050 in fines for their misconduct regarding underage employees.

Although many fast food companies offer franchise opportunities, all the restaurants for the popular Tex-Mex chain Chipotle are company-owned. This model can allow for a more consistent customer experience from location to location, but it also makes the company's recent child labor issues even more troublesome. In 2022, QSR reported that the chain settled child labor law violation claims with the state of New Jersey to the staggering tune of $7.75 million.

According to the article, the chain has a reputation for violating child labor regulations in the Northeast that began as far back as 2015. Locations in New Jersey and a few other states were cited for allowing teenagers to work longer than the legal daily limits. The article also notes that the chain sometimes failed to grant the minor employees proper break times. As a condition of the settlement, Chipotle agreed to beef up its child labor law compliance initiatives in all its New Jersey locations.