Sam Amico
Multiple owners of McDonald’s franchises have been caught violating labor laws, all of which are located in the Pittsburgh area, as relayed by NPR.
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It appears that the owner of the franchises, Santonastasso Enterprises, has illegally scheduled 14- and 15-year-old employees to work too many hours at 13 of its locations.
“Permitting young workers to work excessive hours can jeopardize their safety, well-being and education,” John DuMont, district director of the agency’s wage and hour division in Pittsburgh, said in a statement, via NPR.
“Employers who hire young workers must understand and comply with federal child labor laws or face costly consequences.”
McDonald’s Franchise Owners Being Accused of Violating Child Labor Laws
According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, teens younger than the age of 16 are not permitted to clock in for more than three hours a day or after 7 p.m. local time on school days. They are also limited to eight hours on non-school days and weekends.
While laws are more relaxed over the summer months, teenagers younger than 16 are not permitted to work more than 18 hours during a regular school week.
Restaurant owners John and Kathleen Santonastasso paid a massive fine of more than $57,000 for the violations, NPR reported.
“While franchisees make local decisions for their businesses, including around labor and employment practices, they must comply with all state and federal laws, and we expect them to uphold our values in everything they do,” a McDonald’s spokesperson said. “McDonald’s and our franchisees do not take lightly the outsized impact we can deliver — and therefore the profound obligation we carry — when someone works at a McDonald’s, particularly as their first job.”
