Minor-aged workers at 11 Crumbl Cookie locations in six states employed minor workers who exceeded legal time limits and operated “potentially dangerous ovens and machinery,” the federal agency said in a statement. A total of 46 minors, mostly 14 and 15-year-olds, were impacted in California, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Utah, and Washington. Franchisees were ordered to pay a combined total of $57,854 .
Crumbl Cookies’ corporate office did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Child labor law violations spiked in 2022 with a 37% increase over the previous year, according to the Department of Labor.
The same week that Crumbl was fined, a Chick-fil-A franchisee in North Carolina was ordered to pay $6,450 in fines for allowing minors to operate a trash compactor. In August, a Chick-fil-A franchisee in Tampa, Florida was fined more than $12 thousand for scheduling 14 and 15-year-old workers outside of legally permitted hours. And in early December, a Pennsylvania McDonald’s franchisee was fined almost $60,000 for violations including 101 young teen workers across 13 locations.
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