Employees at a Popeyes in Oakland picketed this week after teen workers, including one who was 13, alleged that they were pressured to work long, late hours in violation of child labor laws.
"Our employer has violated almost every law put in place to protect young workers like us," two of the younger employees wrote in a statement.
Johmara Romero, 17, and Karla Palma Mendoza, who turned 18 Friday, filed a complaint with the California labor commissioner and California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, also known as Cal/OSHA, claiming violations at the Popeyes on International Boulevard in Oakland.
A spokesperson for the Department of Industrial Relations confirmed receipt of the complaint and said Cal/OSHA was investigating the worksite.
Johmara and Palma Mendoza said they were often assigned shifts much longer than four hours and well beyond 10 p.m. on school nights — the legal limit for workers their age. The two employees, who were in high school while working at the restaurant, said they often were asked to stay until 11:30 p.m. or work for 6.5 hours on a school nights, sometimes without the required break times.
The managers who hired them never asked for the necessary work permits required for employees their age, the workers wrote in a statement that was distributed by Fight for $15, a group that represents and advocates for underpaid workers. In California, the group led the charge to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
The complaint included...
Dish Wireless LLC agreed to pay roughly $17 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act, common law, and the Communications Act of 1934 relating to claims submitted to Fed...