AVON, Ohio — The owner of the Slim Chickens' franchise in Streetsboro and Avon has been fined for breaking child labor laws, the U.S. Department of Labor said in a news release.
This, after being warned in September 2021 over hours worked by 14- and 15-year-old employees at its Slim Chickens’ franchise in Streetsboro.
In the latest investigation, it was found that the owner violated federal law and continued the illegal practices for several months at a second location in Avon.
"An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found Ohio Slims LLC and David Giesen – owner of the Avon and Streetsboro restaurants – assigned 15 minors to consistently work hours at the Avon location that violated child labor provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act," the news release said.
Investigators found that on more than 330 occasions, minors worked later than 7p.m. during the school year or after 9 p.m. between June 1 and Labor Day. Additionally, on more than 150 instances, minors under the age of 16 worked more than three hours on a school day, or more than 18 hours during a school week. Also, minors were assigned to work more than eight hours on a day when school was not in session. The above federal violations were highlighted in the news release.
Slim Chickens was fined $15,504 for the violations. The employer has paid the penalties and agreed to comply with federal child labor laws immediately, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
“The restaurants’ operator blamed the child labor violations on managers confused by differences in federal and state wage laws, but our investigators found the employer committed the same violations after being informed of their requirement to comply with federal law,” said Wage and Hour District Director Matthew Utley.
The breakdown of the law is as follows:
"Under state law, 14- and 15-year-old employees in Ohio may work until 9 p.m. during school breaks of five days or more. Federal law prohibits 14- and 15-year-old employees from working after 7 p.m., from Labor Day through June 1, and does not have an exemption for school breaks. From June 1 through Labor Day, federal law allows 14- and 15-year-olds to work until 9 p.m. The Department of Labor’s position is that employers must follow the more stringent law if state law differs from federal law," the news release said.
Slim Chickens provided the following statement to 3News:
"This press release from the US Department of Labor originally issued in 2022, references violations and fines dealt with in 2021 at the franchisee owned Avon and Streetsboro Slim Chickens locations in Ohio. According to the press release issued by the DOL in 2021, all violations were addressed and corrected. Since these issues were resolved in 2021 by Slim Chickens franchisee, David Giesen of Ohio Slims LLC, Giesen has retained law firm Goodspeed & Merrill to perform monthly labor audits ongoing.
Giesen no longer hires employees under the age of 16 and has had no violations since the Avon and Streetsboro issues in 2021. There are no active investigations underway by the DOL or any other investigative body. All fines have been paid and the Avon and Streetsboro Slim Chickens locations operate in good standing with all labor boards."
Editor's Note: The following video is from a previous, unrelated report.
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