BOSTON (WHDH) - Chipotle Mexican Grill has been ordered to pay $1.37 million in restitution and penalties for an estimated 13,253 child labor violations and other state wage and hour law violations at its more than 50 locations in Massachusetts, Attorney General Maura Healey announced Monday.
The restaurant chain also voluntarily agreed to pay $500,000 to a fund that will be administered by Healey’s office to benefit young people through education programs about child labor and enforcement of the laws, as well as training and workforce development for young workers.
Healey’s office issued four citations against Chipotle for violating the child labor and earned sick time laws, failing to make timely payment of wages, and records violations.
“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 news release. “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.”
Healey’s office launched an investigation in 2016 after receiving a complaint from a minor employee’s parent alleging that the minor had worked well past midnight at a Chipotle in Beverly. A review of Chipotle’s records is said to have revealed that minors routinely worked in violation of the child labor laws.
Audits at several Massachusetts locations between 2015 and 2019 identified child labor violations such as minors working without valid work permits, minors working too late into the evening, and minors working too many hours per day and per week, Healey’s office.
Investigators also determined that Chipotle did not properly notify employees of their rights under the earned sick time law, failed to provide Healey’s office with complete timekeeping records upon request, and in some locations, failed to pay workers within six days of the end of a pay period.
Chipotle accepted the civil citations as part of the settlement agreement, has since come into compliance with Massachusetts child labor laws, and cooperated with investigators, according to Healey’s office.
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