Troy company fined for violating labor restrictions on minors

TROY — A Troy-based business that owns several local restaurants has been fined by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division for improperly employing minors.

The department said its investigation found that teens working at several Popeyes franchises owned by Michigan Multi-King Inc. were working in violation of hours allowed by the Fair Labor Standards Act’s child labor standards.

“Far too often, we find teens working hours that are not allowed by the Fair Labor Standards Act,” Wage and Hour District Director Timolin Mitchell said in a press release. “Child labor laws were enacted nearly a century ago to protect children. Employers that hire teen labor must ensure they follow the law while allowing teens to earn valuable work experience.”

The Fair Labor Standards Act prohibits 14- and 15-year-old employees from working later than 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day and past 7 p.m. the remainder of the year. Additionally, they cannot work more than three hours on a school day, eight hours on a non-school day or more than 18 hours per week. The law also prohibits minors from operating motor vehicles and forklifts, and from using other hazardous equipment.

The investigation disclosed that a total of 63 teens — ages 14 and 15 — worked at these particular Popeyes restaurants more than 18 hours when school was in session or worked past 7 p.m. before June 1 and past 9 p.m.. between June 1 and Labor Day.

“All locations had Reg 3 Hours violations, which could be either: working after 7 p.m. on a school day, 9 p.m. on a non-school day, more than three hours on a school day, or more than eight hours on a non-school day, or 18 hours in a school week or 40 hours in a non-school week,” Scott Allen, the U.S. Department of Labor’s regional director for public affairs and media relations, said in an email. “The New Baltimore location had five violations, the Waterford location had 33 violations, the Shelby Township location had six violations, the Fraser location had nine violations and the Clinton Township location had 14 violations.”

The division assessed the employer $48,251 in civil penalties for the violations.

“In February 2023, the department announced the creation of an Interagency Task Force to Combat Child Labor Exploitation to better align federal efforts to protect children from exploitative situations in the workplace,” Mitchell wrote. “In fiscal year 2023, department investigators identified child labor violations in 955 cases and assessed employers with more than $8 million in penalties.”

Mitchell added that, for confidential compliance assistance, employees and employers can call the agency’s toll-free helpline at (866) 487-9243.

Michigan Multi-King Inc. did not respond to requests for comment prior to press time.