Two firms that operate McDonald鈥檚 and Dunkin鈥� restaurants in Vermont have been fined after the U.S. Department of Labor found that nearly 200 teenage employees worked longer hours than allowed under federal law.
According to the Department of Labor, 142 employees of Rutland-based McDonald鈥檚 franchisee Coughlin Inc. worked beyond the number of hours allowed for their age group. All of the employees were 14 or 15 years old. Forty-four teenage employees of Vermont Donut Enterprises, which operates Dunkin鈥� restaurants around northwestern Vermont, worked more hours than allowed.
Federal labor law . For example, on a day when a 14- or 15-year old is in school, they are only allowed to work three hours. According to the department, some teenage McDonald鈥檚 employees in Vermont were working as many as eight hours on a school day.
The department鈥檚 investigations also found that teenage employees at both franchises took on tasks that are prohibited for their age group. At the McDonald鈥檚 restaurants, 18 workers operated deep-fat fryers. Meanwhile, 17 Dunkin鈥� employees operated high-speed ovens, according to the department. Those activities are prohibited for that age group under federal law.
Vermont Donut Enterprises paid nearly $50,000 for the violations. Coughlin Inc. paid over $109,000. Both companies agreed to make changes at their workplaces. According to the department, the franchises will provide color-coded name tags for teenage employees to help identify employees by age. They鈥檒l also appoint compliance officers and give supervisors additional training.
Vermont Donut Enterprises declined comment. Coughlin Inc. did not respond to requests for comment.
As employers struggle to fill open positions, more young people are working, and more employers are violating child labor law violations, said Steven McKinney, the director of the Northern New England district office of the Labor Department鈥檚 Wage and Hour Division.
鈥淭hey're hiring whoever they can find,鈥� McKinney said. 鈥淥ften, that's the younger pool of workers. Many employers in fact are saying, 鈥楬ey, this is the first time we were hiring 14, 15 year olds,鈥� and they didn't become familiar with the laws.鈥�
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McKinney would not detail how the violations in Vermont came to the department鈥檚 attention. But he encouraged employers who are unfamiliar with work restrictions for younger workers to reach out to the department.
鈥淲e want people to proactively call us, rather than wait to be investigated,鈥� McKinney said.
For Coughlin Inc., the McDonald鈥檚 franchisee, this is not the first time its run afoul of federal labor law. In July, the company with the Vermont Attorney General鈥檚 office and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over allegations that the company failed to protect workers from sexual harassment by a manager at its Randolph McDonald鈥檚 location.
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