BOSTON (WHDH) - (WHDH) — Qdoba Restaurant Corp. is facing more than $400,000 in penalties for more than 1,000 child labor law violations at 22 locations across Massachusetts, Attorney General Maura Healey announced.
Healey says her office launched an investigation into Qdoba after receiving a complaint from a minor employee in March 2018 alleging that she had worked late into the evening at one of the chain’s locations in Newton. A review of Qdoba’s records is said to have revealed that minors routinely worked in violation of the law.
An audit of all Qdoba restaurants in the Bay State reportedly showed thousands of violations, including minors working too late and too many hours per shift.
“A young worker’s first job is critical in teaching them about workplace rules, responsibility, and safety,” Healey said in a press release. “We remain committed to ensuring that employers understand and follow the rights of all workers across Massachusetts.”
Healey says investigators at her office found almost 200 instances in which a minor worked more than 11 hours in a single shift, and 18 instances of minors working more than 48 hours in a week. Investigators also allege Qdoba’s records show more than 1,000 instances of a minor working later than 10:30 p.m. on a school night.
Qdoba allegedly failed to obtain work permits on more than 25 occasions prior to hiring minor employees.
The restaurant chain continued to violate the law into May 2019, more than a year after the investigation began, Healey said.
The child labor citations that Qdoba now faces are said to be the largest in the history of the attorney general’s office.
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