No One Monitors a Young Person’s Working Schedule Quite Like Their Parents — Just Ask Chipotle!

Note to brands: Make sure you are respecting the child labor laws in your state, lest a young worker’s parent complains and you get slapped with a giant fine. 

It appears Chipotle has learned that the hard way. The popular fast casual chain will pay $1.3 million for more than 13,000 child labor violations between 2015 and 2019 at more than 50 Massachusetts locations, according to a CNN Business report. 

An investigation started after a parent complained to the state’s attorney general’s office in 2016 and said their child worked “well past midnight” at one Chipotle location, according to the article. 

Further digging yielded some pretty astonishing stuff. The brand that recently rolled out benefits related to tuition coverage was letting members of the under-18 crowd work more than the Bay State’s nine-hour daily limit and 48-hour weekly limit, among other issues, according to the article. 

Presumably, parents would prefer their children devote any spare time to studying for the SATs. 

"Chipotle is a major national restaurant chain that employs thousands of young people across the country and it has a duty to ensure minors are safe working in its restaurants," Attorney General Maura Healey said in a statement, according to the article. "We hope these citations send a message to other fast food chains and restaurants that they cannot violate our child labor laws and put young people at risk."

As for Chipotle, the brand said in a statement that it is “committed to ensuring that our restaurants are in full compliance with all laws and regulations.” 

Read the full report at CNN Business.