Wixom Culver's fined for violating child labor laws, feds say

Wixom — A Culver's franchise restaurant in Wixom was fined after federal investigators found that 18 14- and 15 year-olds were allowed to work more than child labor laws allow, violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. The operator of the franchise had to pay $13,212 in civil penalties, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Federal laws prohibit minors from working more than three hours on a school day, more than 18 hours in a school week, more than eight hours on a non-school day, later than 7 p.m. during the school year and later than 9 p.m. between June 1 and Labor Day. The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that the Culver's operator, Union Pacific Foods Inc., violated those legal requirements.

“Permitting young workers to work excessive hours can jeopardize their safety, well-being and education,” Detroit Wage and Hour Division District Director Timolin Mitchell said in a news release. “Employers like Culver’s who hire young workers must understand and comply with federal child labor laws or face costly consequences.”

Between 2017 and 2021, the Department of Labor identified more than 4,000 cases of child labor law violations involving over 13,000 minors, according to the news release. In 2022, the Wage and Hour Division's Detroit office recovered $2,190,364 in back wages and liquated damages for 2,951 workers in eastern Michigan, they said in the news release.

A list of the Department of Labor's child labor best practices for employers can be found here.

hmackay@detroitnews.com