The U.S. Department of Labor has fined the owners of Zaxby’s in Clarkesville nearly $16,000 after an investigation revealed 19 underaged employees worked outside of legally allowed hours.
The federal agency says minors were allowed to work during school hours and more than three hours on a school day. The 14- and 15-year-olds were also allowed to work more than eight hours on non-school days, more than 18 hours during the school week, and before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m.
Those hours and shifts violate the child labor provisions under the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to USDOL.
Along with the illegal hours, federal investigators discovered “the employer allowed 15-year-old employees to operate a deep fryer without automatic controls to lift the fry basket in and out of the hot oil or grease,” which is a prohibited task for minors.
Investigators said they also learned Mcdreams Enterprises Inc. failed to meet the minimum weekly salary of $684 for two general managers. By doing so, the employer lost its right to claim an overtime exemption for the employees and owed them time-and-a-half for the extra hours they worked.
USDOL fined McDreams Enterprises $15,979 for child labor violations. The agency also recovered $1,177 in back wages and liquidated damages for the two employees.
“With the widespread employment of minors in the restaurant industry, many employers must understand the laws that govern when, how often, and how long minors work and the tasks they are assigned,”...
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