9 teen workers were assigned to use McDonald’s deep fryers, feds say. Franchisee fined

Nine young employees were tasked with using the deep fryers at McDonald’s restaurants in Pennsylvania, and some teens worked too many hours, according to federal authorities.

Now a fast food franchisee based in Erie has paid $92,107 in civil money penalties following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that the DuCharme Organization, which operates as TBLN LLC, violated child labor provisions and other federal regulations at seven McDonald’s locations in Erie and Warren, according to a Feb. 22 news release.

“As a small business owner, I take my role in the community seriously, and I’m deeply committed to the safety and well-being of all my employees,” franchisee owner Tom DuCharme said in a statement to McClatchy News. “I have since adopted several enhanced processes to address scheduling issues and to ensure my organization is meeting the high standards to which we hold ourselves.”

Federal authorities said 154 workers who were 14 and 15 years old were illegally allowed to work:

• Before 7 a.m., after 7 p.m. and for more than three hours per day on school days
• More than 18 hours a week during school weeks
• Later than 9 p.m. between June 1 and Labor Day

• More than eight hours on non-school days

Nine employees younger than 16 were also assigned to operate manual deep fryers at two of the restaurants, according to the release.

Workers under age 16 are only allowed to use deep fat fryers that include devices that can automatically move the food baskets into and out of the cooking oil.

“Since 2018, we have seen an alarming increase in the number of young workers employed in violation of federal child labor laws,” Wage and Hour District Director John DuMont said in the release. “Every employer who hires young workers must know when they can and cannot work, the types of jobs they can do and what tasks they can be safely assigned.

“The bottom line is that there is no excuse for jeopardizing young workers’ safety or hindering their educational opportunities,” he continued.

From fiscal year 2018 to fiscal year 2022, the Department of Labor has investigated more than 4,000 cases involving child labor violations, officials said. During that time, more than 15,000 minors were “employed in violation.”

Erie is about 130 miles north of Pittsburgh.

This story was originally published February 22, 2023 at 2:34 PM with the headline "9 teen workers were assigned to use McDonald’s deep fryers, feds say. Franchisee fined."