The division assessed $16,595 in penalties to resolve the violations, the labor department announced.
According to the department, the investigation found the company “allowed 22 employees, ages 14 and 15, to work as many as 46 hours per workweek.” It also found that these employees began to work after midnight.Under federal labor laws, the department said, children under 14 cannot work in non-agricultural settings. Children 14 and 15 cannot work more than three hours on a school day , or more than 18 hours a week when school is in session.
Kevin Hunt, the district director of the Wage and Hour Division, said that at Standard Restaurant Supply, “Minors as young as 14- and 15-years-old not only worked beyond permitted hours, but more than half of them were employed in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act by being allowed to work long shifts often exceeding 8 hours.”
The company also was cited for not keeping accurate time records — including one instance where a minor-aged employee’s date of birth was inaccurate.