Chipotle hit with child labor fine

Chain to pay $1.3M after investigation finds over 13,000 violations.

— Chipotle was hit with a $1.3 million fine over more than 13,000 child labor violations at its Massachusetts restaurants, the state’s attorney general announced.

Attorney General Maura Healey ordered the largest child labor penalty ever issued by the state against the Mexican restaurant chain after finding an estimated 13,253 child labor violations in its more than 50 locations.

“Chipotle is a major national restaurant chain that employs thousands of young people across the country and it has a duty to ensure minors are safe working in its restaurants,” Healey said in a statement. “We hope these citations send a message to other fast food chains and restaurants that they cannot violate our child labor laws and put young people at risk.”

The fine detailed that Chipotle had employees under the age of 18 working past midnight and for more than 48 hours a week.

Teenagers told investigators their hours of work were so long that it was preventing them from keeping up with their schoolwork. The company also regularly hired minors without work permits.

The settlement total is closer to $2 million, including penalties for earned sick time violations in which managers granted employees paid time off only for certain illnesses.

The violations also include failure to keep accurate records and pay timely wages. Lastly, the company was ordered a voluntary $500,000 payout to a state youth worker fund dedicated to education, enforcement and training.

Healey’s office said it launched a probe of Chipotle in 2016 after a parent complained that their child had stayed on the job past midnight at a restaurant in the city of Beverly.

Massachusetts law bars 14- and 15-year-olds from working later than 7 p.m., while 16- and 17-yearolds can’t be on the clock past 10 p.m. before school days or midnight before non-school days, according to officials. Minors also can’t work more than nine hours a day or 48 hours in a week.

Chipotle also employed minors without valid work permits, which companies are required to have on file for any workers younger than 18, Healey’s office said.

Chipotle did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. But the company has agreed to put $500,000 toward a state-administered fund for training, workforce development and education for young people as part of a settlement, Healey’s office said.