NEWTON, KS – After federal investigators found, for the second time in a year, that the owners and operators of 17 Sonic Drive-In locations in Kansas illegally allowed children to work longer and at times not permitted by law, the U.S. District Court of Kansas has ordered the franchisees to stop violating child labor regulations.
The court’s action follows investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division into employment practices by BBR Investments LLC of Newton and its owner, Richard Benard.
In September 2022, the department assessed the company with $41,998 in civil money penalties after investigators found the employer violated federal law by allowing 50 teens – ages 14 and 15 – to exceed the number of hours allowed weekly and work later than the law permits at Sonic locations in Hutchinson, McPherson and Newton.
On Oct. 7, 2022, the division began another investigation and found violations at the company’s Sonic location in Valley Center and ongoing violations at the locations in Hutchinson, McPherson and Newton. This investigation found BBR continuing to allow 44 child labor violations like those found in prior investigations. The division also determined that children under age 16 operated fryers without automatic devices to lower and lift fry baskets, which is prohibited under federal law. The department then assessed BBR with $97,070 in additional penalties.
To resolve the violations found in the investigations, BBR and Benard paid the...
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