High school students allege long late hours and child labor violations at Popeyes in Oakland

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Two high school students say they felt pressured to skip class or homework to work long hours that violated child labor laws at a Popeyes in Oakland, Calif., according to complaints they filed with the California State Department of Labor on Wednesday.

The teens allege their franchise employer Popeyes scheduled them to work after school from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and sometimes after 11 p.m., according to the complaint filed with the California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement. These hours are longer and later than legally permitted on school nights, in violation of state child labor laws.

Johmara Romero, a 17-year-old cashier, said her employer called her at work in the middle of the school day and the teenager skipped school that day, according to the complaint, which was obtained by the Washington Post.

California labor laws limit minors under 18 to just four hours of work per day during the school day and nothing after 10 p.m.

The Post interviewed Romero and his mother to confirm the allegations in the complaint.

Romero said that when her manager started babysitting her after 10 p.m. on school nights, she would wake up late and miss the bus, then get late.

It touched me a lot, Romero said. I started falling behind. I couldn’t sleep enough. I would be frustrated. I don’t like being late for school. I would wonder if I would graduate because of my grades.

A spokesperson for Popeyes said the fast-food giant immediately closed the Oakland restaurant owned by one of its franchises on Thursday in response to the workers’ allegations and launched a prompt investigation, after The Post reported asked for comments.

We will not tolerate any violations of employment laws and if any of these allegations prove true, we will take action against this franchisee, the Popeyes spokesperson said.

A request for comment from franchise owner 14th Street Chicken Corporation was not returned.

The allegations provide an inside look at the toll of the child labor problem in the United States. Child labor violations have nearly quadrupled since 2015, according to Labor Department data, in part due to the continuing shortage of workers and the arrival of migrant children without their parents in the United States. Young teenagers have sacrificed their education, sleep and social connections to work for some of the country’s most recognizable employers struggling to recruit workers.

A cleaning company illegally employed a 13-year-old boy. His family is paying the price.

Many of these violations have occurred in the fast food and restaurant industries, which have struggled to recoup workers who left the industry during the pandemic, often for better paying jobs. Earlier this month, three McDonalds franchises were cited for employing more than 300 children who worked longer hours than the law allows, among other violations. The Department of Labor fined one of the Louisville franchises nearly $40,000 for making two 10-year-old children work without pay.

Employees of Popeyes in Oakland told the Post they plan to demonstrate outside the store on Thursday against child labor and other violations alleged in complaints filed this week. They are organizing with the SEIUs Fight for $15 movement.

Another 17-year-old Popeyes employee alleged that she also had to work longer and later hours at Popeyes than the law allowed, according to her statement, which is also in the complaint obtained by The Post. The Post is not naming her to protect her privacy because she is underage.

At one point I fell way behind in my classes, and it was hard to catch up because after school all I could do was work, eat and sleep, she said. written in his statement in the complaint. I worked very hard to catch up and felt like I had no time to connect with my friends because I had to spend my breaks and lunch getting help from my teachers and do schoolwork, because after school I didn’t have time to do my homework when I’m working.

She said she planned to skip her high school graduation trip to Disneyland this year because she was afraid of losing her job if she asked for time off to go.

I’m sad I’m going to miss Grad Night, the other 17-year-old wrote in his statement. I decided not to go because being broke is not for me, and I’m afraid of asking for leave and being retaliated against and losing my income.

The Biden administration has announced a crackdown on employers who violate child labor laws, even as a handful of Republican-majority states moved to relax regulations that prevent young people from working long hours and later, often in dangerous conditions.

This month, the Iowa Legislature passed a bill that allows miners to work longer hours and accept jobs in roofing, construction, and light assembly line work with permission.

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (right) signed into law legislation in March that eliminates the state’s requirement to verify the age of children under 16 before they can work.

A Florida-based think tank and lobbying group, Foundation for Government Accountability, is drafting state laws that have successfully rolled back protections for children in the workplace this year, The Post reported earlier this month. .

Romero, 17, a recent high school graduate, started working at Popeyes earlier this year to help his parents, who live paycheck to paycheck, with their rent and utility bills, he said. she told the Post.

When she was hired, she said Popeyes did not apply for a work permit as required by California state law for all underage employment, according to the complaint.

Sometimes when his shift ended at 10 p.m., Romero said his manager told him you were staying until 11 a.m., according to the complaint.

As child labor violations have exploded in the fast food world, the meatpacking industry has also drawn attention as reports of children as young as 13 working night shifts in slaughterhouses surfaced. Earlier this year, the Labor Department fined a sanitation company $1.5 million for hiring more than 100 youths to clean sharp saws and other equipment at 13 meatpacking plants. .

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