U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in McDonald’s Franchisee Paying $48,258 For Violations of Federal Child Labor Laws, Additional $20,015 for Minimum Wage and Overtime Violations

LOUISVILLE, KY – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), NPT Partners I LLC – a Louisville, Kentucky-based franchisee of six McDonald’s restaurants – has paid a civil money penalty of $48,258 for violating child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In addition, the franchisee has paid $20,015 in wages to eight employees for violating minimum wage and overtime requirements of the FLSA.

WHD investigators determined NPT Partners I LLC violated child labor requirements by employing 14- and 15-year-old employees to work outside of legally approved hours, and for more hours than allowed by law. Investigators found 66 minors worked more than 3 hours on a school day or more than 8 hours on a non-school day; worked more than 18 hours per week during school weeks or more than 40 hours per week in non-school weeks; and worked after 7:00 p.m. Labor Day through May 31 and after 9:00 p.m. June 1 through Labor Day – all FLSA violations. The employer also allowed 14- and 15-year-old employees to work in a hazardous occupation prohibited for this age group by engaging them in cooking activities involving deep-fat fryers not equipped with devices that automatically lower and raise the baskets into and out of the hot oil.

WHD also found NPT Partners I LLC violated the minimum wage requirement of the FLSA when they made an illegal deduction from an employee’s pay for a cash register shortage, causing the worker’s earnings to drop below the federal minimum hourly wage. The employer also violated overtime requirements by paying a salary to seven non-exempt employees and failing to pay them overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek.

“Child labor laws exist to strike a balance between providing meaningful work experience for young people and keeping them safe on the job while not interfering with their educational opportunities,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Karen Garnett-Civils, in Louisville, Kentucky. “We encourage all employers – especially those who employ minors – to review their employment obligations and to contact the Wage and Hour Division for compliance assistance. Employers can avoid violations like those found in this case.”

WHD found the violations at the following Louisville locations operating as McDonald’s restaurants:

The department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, confidential calls, or in-person visits to local WHD offices.

For more information about the child labor standards, the FLSA, and other laws enforced by WHD, contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers that discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program.  Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

WHD’s mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation's workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act, and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.