Tampa Marco’s Pizza franchisee pays nearly $8K in penalties after allowing 15-year-olds to work outside permitted hours, engage in hazardous duties

Employer:                                      American Pizza Empire LLC

                                                            Marco’s Pizza

                                                            5918 Providence Road

                                                            Riverview, FL 33578

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found American Pizza Empire LLC – operating as Marcos Pizza in Riverview – allowed three, 15-year-old workers to work past 7 p.m. or more than 3 hours during a school day between Labor Day and June 1 and more than 18 hours in a week while school was in session, in violation of the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. In addition, the employer allowed one 15-year-old employee to operate a power-driven bakery machine to stretch and flatten pizza dough, a hazardous occupation for minors under the FLSA. The same worker sustained a burn to their hand during baking activities, which led to an additional violation.

Civil money penalties assessed:       $7,950 to address the child labor violations.                                 

Quote: “Employers must understand child labor rules and regulations when they decide to hire minor-aged workers. Learning about hazardous occupations for minors after an incident occurs can lead to serious and costly consequences,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Nicolas Ratmiroff in Tampa, Florida. “We encourage employers to use our Youthrules.gov website or to contact the Wage and Hour Division to learn how to keep these young workers safe on the job.”

Background: In December 2021, an operator of five Charleston-area Marco’s Pizza locations paid $101,027 in civil penalties after division investigators found the employer endangered minor-aged workers by allowing them to perform prohibited or hazardous duties.

Employers can contact the Wage and Hour Division at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including seven child labor best practices for employers. Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions – regardless of their immigration status – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.