Employer: Mcdreams Enterprises Inc. trading as Zaxby’s
1660 441 Historic Highway N
Clarkesville, GA30523
Investigation results: US Department of Labor investigators found that the employer allowed 19 employees — 14 and 15-year-olds — to work outside of legally permitted hours, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s child labor provisions. In particular, the employer made the minors work during school hours, more than three hours on a school day and more than eight hours on a non-school day, more than 18 hours during a school week and before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m
The department also discovered that the employer allowed 15-year-old employees to operate a fryer without automatic controls to lift the frying basket into and out of the hot oil or fat, a prohibited task for minors as per the provisions of the FLSA child labor standards described .
Investigators also learned that Mcdreams Enterprises Inc. failed to meet the minimum weekly salary of $684 for two general managers. As a result, the employer lost its entitlement to overtime leave for these workers and owed them one and a half times their wages for more than 40 hours in a working week.
Assessed civil penalties: $15,979 to address child labor violations.
Wage arrears and contractual penalties recovered: $1,177 for two employees.
Quote: “With the widespread employment of underage workers in the hospitality industry, many employers need to understand the laws that regulate when, how often and for how long underage workers work and what duties are assigned to them. Employers must carefully walk the fine line between providing meaningful work experience for minors and jeopardizing their safety, well-being and educational opportunities,” said Steven Salazar, district director of the Wage and Hour Division in Atlanta. “We encourage employers, parents, educators and young workers to take advantage of the variety of resources we provide and attend our upcoming webinar on April 26 to learn about their legal obligations and rights.”
Background: From fiscal years 2020-2022, the department has awarded employers more than $2.8 million in penalties and conducted more than 500 child labor investigations involving nearly 2,900 minors in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
To help employers prevent child labor violations, the department division will host a webinar on child labor regulations for employers, underage workers and their parents, school officials and other stakeholders on April 26 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EDT. The webinar panel is free, however Registration required.
Employers can also contact the Wage and Hour Division at toll-free 1-866-4-US-WAGE. Learn more about wage and hour sharing, including Information on the protection of young workers on the Department youth rules! website. Workers can contact the Payroll and Hours Department with questions in confidence – regardless of their immigration status – and the department can speak to callers in more than 200 languages. Employees and employers alike can do this Help keep hours and pay accurate by downloading the department’s free Android Timesheet app, available in English and Spanish.
