Operator of 13 Pittsburgh-area McDonald's accused of child labor violations

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The operator of 13 Pittsburgh-area McDonald's restaurants is accused of child labor violations affecting dozens of teenage workers. 

The U.S. Department of Labor said its Wage and Hour Division determined franchisee Santonastasso Enterprises LLC allowed 101 14- and 15-year-old employees to work outside permissible hours. 

The department said violations included working more than 3 hours a day and after 7 p.m. on school days, more than 18 hours during a regular school week, past 9 p.m. on days in the summer and more than 8 hours on a non-school day. 

The violations happened at over a dozen locations, including Bridgeville, Castle Shannon, McKees Rocks, Pittsburgh and Waynesburg, according to the Department of Labor. 

Santonastasso Enterprises LLC was ordered to pay a penalty of over $57,000. 

"Permitting young workers to work excessive hours can jeopardize their safety, well-being and education," said Wage and Hour District Director John DuMont in a press release. "Employers who hire young workers must understand and comply with federal child labor laws or face costly consequences."

Reid Maki with the national Child Labor Coalition said parents and employers both should be concerned about these violations.

"If children work more than 20 hours a week, there's been research that suggests that their grades start to go down and their school completion rate goes down," Maki said. 

The Department of Labor said with a labor shortage right now and the holiday season needing more workers, child labor violations are problematic. 

"This is an important time of year when employers are using employees, and it's ripe for violations right now for child labor," Dumont said.