Massachusetts Lawyer Basic Andrea Pleasure Campbell has issued citations in opposition to Northeast Meals LLC, an organization which operates Burger King franchise places throughout Massachusetts, for allegedly violating varied state employment legal guidelines, together with little one labor legal guidelines.
The citations, totaling roughly $2,029,754, embrace restitution for unpaid wages and penalties, in keeping with Campbell.
Individually, the lawyer common additionally not too long ago reached a settlement with Popeyes franchise operators Amish Parikh and Ashish Parikh, who’re New Jersey-based homeowners of 19 Popeyes franchise places throughout Massachusetts. The settlement resolves allegations that the operators violated the state’s little one labor legal guidelines and the earned sick time legislation. As a part of the settlement, the lawyer common issued $212,516 in citations in opposition to the Popeyes operators, which included restitution for impacted staff and penalties.
The state’s lawyer common’s alleges that in violation of the state’s wage and hour legal guidelines, between at the least January 2022 and March 2023, the Burger King franchise operator did not pay minimal wage and make well timed funds to staff, and in some situations, did not pay any wages to staff.
The state additionally alleges that the Burger King operator failed to allow staff to earn and use sick time as legally required, failed to keep up correct worker payroll information, and failed to supply sure requested documentation, together with payroll information, to the lawyer common.
Moreover, the state alleges that, throughout the similar time interval, the Burger King franchise operator violated the state’s little one labor legal guidelines by scheduling minors for work throughout legally prohibited hours and in extra of the state’s restrict of 9 each day working hours for staff which might be 16 and 17 years outdated.
The lawyer common’s workplace started investigating the matter after receiving a grievance from a employee at a Burger King location concerning nonpayment of wages. The investigation indicated that the alleged violations impacted practically 2,000 workers at Burger King places operated by Northeast Meals throughout Massachusetts.
In 2017 and 2022, the state equally cited Northeast Meals for a number of violations of the state’s little one labor legal guidelines at varied Burger King places. Additionally, in 2019, the lawyer common cited the corporate for failing to keep up a legally required earned sick depart coverage at a Burger King location in Marlborough.
Relating to the state’s settlement with the Popeyes franchise operators, the state alleged that the Popeyes franchise operators failed to allow three staff to make use of sick time as legally required and scheduled minors for work throughout legally prohibited hours and in extra of the state’s whole each day and weekly working hour limits.
Massachusetts’ wage and hours legal guidelines embrace necessities associated to minimal wage, well timed funds inside six days after the tip of a pay interval, and funds all the time labored. The state’s earned sick time legislation gives staff the appropriate to earn and use as much as 40 hours of job-protected sick time per yr, permitting staff to accrue one hour of earned sick depart for each 30 hours labored.
Massachusetts’ little one labor legal guidelines impose sure necessities associated to minors within the office, together with limitations based mostly on age, on work hours and sorts of jobs allowed. Beneath the state’s little one labor legal guidelines, minors aged 16 and 17 years outdated might not work for greater than 9 hours a day, six days every week, and 48 hours every week.
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