The US Department of Labor said on Wednesday that the owners of Popeye’s restaurants in Oakland, Newark, and Tracy had reached a settlement to resolve a federal complaint about the violation of child labor regulations.
Workers at the Oakland Popeye’s on International Boulevard staged a protest in May of last year, demanding justice and denouncing alleged labor violations.
The operator was ordered by the Labor Department to pay $212,000 in penalties, damages, and back pay.
Some of the laborers were as young as thirteen, and their work hours exceeded the legal limits for child labor.
Ohmara Romero stated during a press conference in the spring of last year, “The management never asked me for a work permit during my time at Popeye’s.” “I was supposed to work until around 10 or 11 p.m. I occasionally skipped my morning classes because I was too exhausted to work a late shift. I needed this employment to occasionally help my family with finances, so I never complained to management for fear that they would reduce my hours.”