Culver’s had 79 minors under 16 working illegally at Georgia restaurants, feds say
The operators of two Culver’s restaurants will pay thousands of dollars in penalties to resolve child labor violations involving 79 employees who were under 16 and working for the fast food franchise in northern Georgia, court documents show.
Federal investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found 73 minors working illegal hours at a Culver’s in Suwanee, about a 30-mile drive northeast from Atlanta, and three minors working prohibited hours at a location in Dawsonville between June 9, 2021, and June 8, 2023, according to federal court filings. Dawsonville is about a 55-mile drive northeast from Atlanta.
The Wage and Hour Division also discovered three underage Culver’s employees working a deep fryer, considered a dangerous job for young employees, at the Suwanee restaurant, a complaint says.
The restaurants’ operators, Adabi Investment LLC and Adabi’s Diner LLC, were ordered to pay a $60,116 civil fine over the Fair Labor Standards Act violations, according to a consent decree.
The Culver’s franchisee, Ali Adabi, told WSB-TV that Department of Labor inspectors unexpectedly visited the restaurants in June 2023 and said “there was no complaint, no parents came to us and raised an issue.”
Adabi said there were not 73 underage employees working illegal hours at one of his restaurants, according to the TV station. Instead, he told the outlet that there were 73 instances involving four or five workers staying longer than their shifts because they were waiting to be taken home.
“They ask me, Mr. Ali, would you mind if I stayed on the clock until my parents come pick me up? And out of the goodness of my heart, I have said yes honey, you can stay,” Adabi told WSB-TV. “This is all a matter of five minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes at the max after 7 o’clock.”
Under the child labor laws, employees who are 14 and 15 are only allowed to work until 7 p.m. during the school year and can work until 9 p.m. during the summer.
When school is out of session, they can only work up to eight hours a day and no longer than 40 hours in a week, according to the law.
In an emailed statement to McClatchy News on Sept. 17, Culver’s said the company “is committed to a culture of care in its restaurants, and requires its franchisees to follow all labor laws, which is why each franchisee receives extensive training on youth employment regulations prior to becoming a Culver’s franchisee.”
“The incidents in this complaint took place between 2021 and 2023. Upon being made aware of the violations, the franchisee took responsibility, swiftly and successfully corrected all conditions reported in the corresponding Labor Department audit and committed to complying with those conditions moving forward,” Culver’s added.
.jpg)