The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday announced it has obtained a preliminary federal court injunction that forbids the operator of 14 Bay Area Subway sandwich shops — including six in Sonoma County — from violating child labor laws, threatening and retaliating against workers, and obstructing a federal investigation.
The Labor Department’s actions against John Michael Meza and his corporations, Crave Brands LLC and MZS Enterprises LLC, follows a Press Democrat investigation, published in March, into allegations of wage theft and unsafe working conditions at the local restaurants.
“Our investigators learned this Subway franchisee directed young teenagers to operate ovens, toasters, cardboard balers and other equipment, all of which are considered dangerous jobs,” Assistant District Director Alberto Raymond of the department’s Wage and Hour Division said in a press release.
“The court has ordered the employer to stop jeopardizing the safety and well-being of minor-aged workers, to pay workers as the law requires and to ensure that workers can participate in our investigation without fear.”
Raymond’s division cited Meza for numerous violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act related to the payment of wages, child labor, record keeping, retaliation against employees and obstruction of a federal investigation.
The press release cited $265,294 in unpaid wages.
The Press Democrat’s initial reporting detailed allegations by local teenagers that Meza and his...
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