Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has issued citations against Northeast Foods LLC, a company which operates Burger King franchise locations across Massachusetts, for allegedly violating various state employment laws, including child labor laws.
The citations, totaling approximately $2,029,754, include restitution for unpaid wages and penalties, according to Campbell.
Separately, the attorney general also recently reached a settlement with Popeyes franchise operators Amish Parikh and Ashish Parikh, who are New Jersey-based owners of 19 Popeyes franchise locations across Massachusetts. The settlement resolves allegations that the operators violated the state’s child labor laws and the earned sick time law. As part of the settlement, the attorney general issued $212,516 in citations against the Popeyes operators, which included restitution for impacted workers and penalties.
The state’s attorney general’s alleges that in violation of the state’s wage and hour laws, between at least January 2022 and March 2023, the Burger King franchise operator failed to pay minimum wage and make timely payments to workers, and in some instances, failed to pay any wages to workers.
The state also alleges that the Burger King operator failed to permit workers to earn and use sick time as legally required, failed to maintain accurate employee payroll records, and failed to provide certain requested documentation, including payroll records, to the attorney general.
Additionally, the state alleges that, within the same time period, the Burger King franchise operator violated the state’s child labor laws by scheduling minors for work during legally prohibited hours and in excess of the state’s limit of nine daily working hours for workers that are 16 and 17 years old.
The attorney general’s office began investigating the matter after receiving a complaint from a worker at a Burger King location regarding nonpayment of wages. The investigation indicated that the alleged violations impacted nearly 2,000 employees at Burger King locations operated by Northeast Foods across Massachusetts.
In 2017 and 2022, the state similarly cited Northeast Foods for multiple violations of the state’s child labor laws at various Burger King locations. Also, in 2019, the attorney general cited the company for failing to maintain a legally required earned sick leave policy at a Burger King location in Marlborough.
Regarding the state’s settlement with the Popeyes franchise operators, the state alleged that the Popeyes franchise operators failed to permit three workers to use sick time as legally required and scheduled minors for work during legally prohibited hours and in excess of the state’s total daily and weekly working hour limits.
Massachusetts’ wage and hours laws include requirements related to minimum wage, timely payments within six days after the end of a pay period, and payments for all time worked. The state’s earned sick time law provides workers the right to earn and use up to 40 hours of job-protected sick time per year, allowing workers to accrue one hour of earned sick leave for every 30 hours worked.
Massachusetts’ child labor laws impose certain requirements related to minors in the workplace, including limitations based on age, on work hours and types of jobs allowed. Under the state’s child labor laws, minors aged 16 and 17 years old may not work for more than nine hours a day, six days a week, and 48 hours a week.
Topics Massachusetts
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