The Department of Labor is alleging 13 McDonald’s locations in the Pittsburgh area violated child labor laws involving 101 minors who worked for the restaurants.
The franchises owned by Santonastasso Enterprises LLC violated laws restricting hours 14- and 15-year-olds may work, per an investigation by the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.
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“Permitting young workers to work excessive hours can jeopardize their safety, well-being and education,” Wage and Hour Division District Director John DuMont said in a statement. “Employers who hire young workers must understand and comply with federal child labor laws or face costly consequences.”
The locations allegedly violated laws forbidding employees ages 14 and 15 from working more than three hours per day, working past 7 p.m. on school days, working later than 9 p.m. on days between June 1 and Labor Day, and working more than eight hours on a nonschool day.
The owners of Santonastasso Enterprises LLC, John and Kathleen Santonastasso, in a statement to CBS News expressed their regret and vowed to have more safeguards to ensure they are properly following minor labor laws in the future.
“We take our role as a local employer very seriously and we regret any scheduling issues that may have occurred at our restaurants. Our biggest priority is always the safety and well-being of our employees and we have since instituted a series of new and enhanced processes and procedures to ensure employees are scheduled appropriately,” the couple said.
Minors, specifically those between the ages of 14 and 15, are highly restricted in the work they may do and how many hours a day they may work, especially on school days, according to various child labor laws.
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The Labor Department says the owners of the restaurants paid a $57,332 civil penalty for the various labor law violations.
