Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. --

The operator of Brooklyn Boys Pizza and Pasta restaurants in Boca Raton and Coral Springs has agreed to pay $11,806 in back wages to six employees and $11,329 in civil money penalties after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) determined the company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Five workers employed at the Boca Raton location will receive a total of $11,287 in back wages and the operator was assessed $8,387 in civil money penalties for child labor violations. One worker at the Coral Springs location will receive $519 in back wages and the operator was assessed $2,942 in civil money penalties.

“Young workers can learn valuable skills when they enter the job market, but some work is just too dangerous for employees under the age of eighteen,” said Juan Coria, assistant district director for the Fort Lauderdale office. “In addition to the FLSA youth employment laws, employers must comply with minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping requirements.”

Wage and Hour investigators found that the employer allowed 15 year-old employees to work too many hours and 17-year-olds to operate power-driven bakery machinery and drive vehicles used for business. The company also allegedly failed to pay minimum wages, did not pay overtime when employees worked more than 40 hours in a work week, and did not maintain proper work records, including birth dates for employees under the age of 18.

The FLSA and youth employment regulations establish the hours during which youth under the age of 16 may work and restrict employment in specific hazardous occupations for all youth under the age of 18. Hazardous Occupation Order No. 11 prohibits youth under the age of 18 from operating power-driven machinery. Hazardous Occupation Order No. 2 prohibits youth under the age of 18 from driving motor vehicles on public roads as part of their jobs. Seventeen-year-olds may drive only in limited circumstances and may not be engaged in urgent, time-sensitive deliveries.

The Labor Department has a YouthRules! Web page at www.youthrules.dol.gov to help young workers, employees and parents learn more about the youth employment provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. For more information about the FLSA, call the toll-free help line at (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243) or visit the Wage and Hour Web site at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

Staff from the Fort Lauderdale district office, located at 299 E. Broward Blvd., Room 408 conducted these investigations.

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