A Wendy’s franchisee has been fined more than $15,000 for violations of child labor and safety laws in five restaurants in Lehigh Valley and Pottstown, the U.S. Department of Labor reports.
The franchisee allowed 14- and 15-year-olds to work more than 18 hours a week, more than three hours on a school day and more than eight hours on a non-school day, the department said Tuesday in a news release. The franchisee “endangered minor-aged workers” by allowing 15-year-olds to manually place and remove fry baskets, the department said Tuesday in a news release.
By law, 14- and 15-years-olds can only operate deep fryers that automatically raise and lower the baskets, the department said. They can only can only work specific limited hours, according to federal child labor regulations, the department said.
The investigation was handled by the department’s Wage and Hour Division, the new release said.
The franchisee of the targeted Wendy’s restaurants in the Easton area, Allentown, Whitehall Township and Pottstown is listed as “Philly LIV Bacon LLC and three other corporations” in the news release. The franchisee has agree to “take corrective action” at all 83 of its restaurants in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, the department said.
The franchisee has already paid the $15,449 in civil penalties, the department said.
The “employers” are working with the department to “initiate an enterprise-wide review of the workplace practices at all of their 83 Wendy’s locations” in the...
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