Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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SALT LAKE CITY -- Caesars Utah LLC, doing business as Little Caesars Pizza in Sandy, Utah, has paid a civil monetary penalty of $110,800 for violations of the youth employment provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. The company owns 50 franchised restaurants, most of which are located in Utah.

As part of a settlement, the company also has agreed to educate the public at large by creating a statewide public service campaign called “Stop, Look and Listen.” This youth employment educational campaign will run for a full year and will contain three different approaches: Stop when you are walking by the restaurants to see the posters prominently displayed in the windows of each of the 40 Utah stores in full view of the public; Look for the billboards placed on high visibility traffic arteries throughout the state; and Listen for the public service announcements on Utah radio stations.

“This cooperative behavior and public service campaign agreement send a strong message that this Little Caesars franchisee is committed to safeguarding the health, safety and educational opportunities of young workers, said Dean A. Campbell, the Wage and Hour Division’s district director in Salt Lake City.

Caesars Utah’s alleged youth employment violations included 14- to17 year-olds operating dough mixers defined as hazardous, 14- and 15-year-olds working in violation of hours and time standards, and violations of occupation standards while working in baking operations.

The Little Caesars franchisee cooperated fully with the investigation and agreed to future FLSA compliance.

The FLSA’s youth employment regulations identify 17 hazardous occupations prohibited for workers under the age of 18, including operating, assisting to operate or setting-up, adjusting, repairing, oiling or cleaning any horizontal or vertical (power driven) dough mixers. The basic minimum age for employment in non-agricultural occupations is 14. Fourteen and 15-year-olds may work in certain occupations outside school hours, but not before 7 a.m. and not later than 7 p.m. (9 p.m. from June 1 until Labor Day). They may not work more than three hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week or eight hours on a non-school day and 40 hours in a week when school is not in session. Individuals under age 16 may not be employed in cooking and baking.

For additional information about the FLSA and other laws the Wage and Hour Division enforces, visit www.wagehour.dol.gov; call the Wage and Hour Division office in Salt Lake City at (801) 524-5706; or call the Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243). For information about youth employment laws visit www.youthrules.dol.gov.

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