In a recent turn of events, a Little Caesars franchise in Farmington Hills has faced $26,341 in penalties for child labor violations. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division uncovered that the restaurant, run by JMP Pizza Inc., unlawfully assigned minors to tasks including operating high-temperature ovens and dough mixers. Furthermore, the establishment allowed three 15-year-old employees to work beyond the legally permissible hours on school nights, a direct infringement of federal labor laws.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, federal law strictly prohibits 14- and 15-year-old workers from engaging in any baking activities and limits their involvement in cooking duties. In outright defiance of these regulations, one underage employee was tasked to use an oven heated between 500 and 900 degrees Fahrenheit. The same employer went on to improperly permit children to work later and longer than what is permissible by law.
Timolin Mitchell, the Wage and Hour Division District Director in Detroit, stressed the importance of safe, beneficial work experiences for children, stating, as per the U.S. Department of Labor, "Learning new skills in the workforce is an important part of growing up – but we must protect children and ensure their first jobs are safe jobs and do not interfere with their education or well-being." The current standards set by federal regulations cap the working hours of these young individuals to no later than 7 p.m. from the day after Labor Day until May 31, and not after 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day, among other restrictions. Editor's Note: The image in this article has been updated for accuracy.
