A sign for Burger King is displayed outside one of the company’s restaurants, operated by Burger King Worldwide Inc. and the Everstone Group, in Mumbai, India, on Monday, March 26, 2018. A pickup in the economy and growing demand from the planet’s largest youth population are boosting fast-food sales in India. Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The owners of dozens of Burger King and Popeyes franchises across Massachusetts have been fined for violations of child labor and workers' rights laws after investigations brought by the Attorney General's Office, officials announced Tuesday.
The citations target two different sets of owners - Northeast Foods LLC, which operates the Burger King locations, and Amish Parikh and Ashish Parikh, who own 19 Popeyes locations across Massachusetts.
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According to the AG's office, between January 2022 and March 2023, Northeast Food LLC paid below minimum wage and did not make timely payments to workers, in some cases failing to pay at all. The AG also alleges that the company did not allow workers to use sick time, did not keep accurate payroll records and failed to provide necessary documents to their office. The investigation found nearly 2,000 employees across dozens of Northeast Foods locations were impacted.
Further, the company is accused of having workers under 18 working more than the nine daily hours allowed by state law. Under state labor laws, 16- and 17-year-olds may not work for more than nine hours a day, six days a week and 48 hours a week.
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The company was also cited in 2017 and 2022 for violating state child labor laws, and in 2019 for failing to maintain a legally required sick leave policy at a Marlborough location.
The citations came to over $2 million in unpaid wages and penalties.
The Popeyes franchise owners are accused of failing to allow workers to use sick time. It is also alleged that were scheduling minors for work outside of the legal allowances and over the state's total daily and weekly working limits.
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The fines totaled $212,516.
“Our workplace laws exist to provide crucial rights and protections to our workforce,” Attorney General Andrea Campbell wrote in a media release. “My office will continue to enforce these laws to protect and empower workers, including young workers who contribute to their communities and gain new skills and experiences.”
The Fair Labor Division investigates allegations of workers' rights violations. If you believe your rights have been violated, you can file a complaint at mass.gov/ago/fld or call the Fair Labor Hotline at 617-727-3465.
