WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 22, 2025 – Green America and the Child Labor Coalition launched a new anti-child labor campaign focused on fast-food companies with a track record of child labor violations from the U.S. Department of Labor. The campaign will organize thousands of consumers urging McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A, Baskin-Robins, Jersey Mike’s Subs, and Sonic to address child labor violations, citing specific instances at franchise locations across the country.
Charlotte Tate, Labor Justice Campaigns Director at Green America, said: “We’re seeing patterns of DOL Child Labor Violations – thousands over recent years – and it’s egregious that major fast-food chains are allowing it to happen. These companies must engage in a productive dialogue and take leadership roles in eradicating child labor and labor violations in the food production industry.”
Child labor in the U.S. is a growing problem. From 2015 to 2022, the number of children employed in violation of child labor laws rose by 283%. There have been nearly six times as many child labor law violations in the food service industry in the last ten years.
Reid Maki, Child Labor Advocacy Director for the Child Labor Coalition and National Consumers League, said: “For many teens, working in fast food is their first job. It is critical for it to be a good experience, free from exploitation and work dangers, like operating fryers. Their hours must be restricted to ensure that they are not damaged by working too many hours. We know from academic research that teens who work more than 20 hours a week during the school year, see their grades drop and their chances of graduating go down significantly.”
McDonald’s
- McDonald’s had more than 2,300 child labor violations at more than 13,000 restaurants since 2013.
- One franchise operator “employed 24 minors under age 16 to work more than legally permitted hours”, including “two 10-year-old children who were employed -- but not paid -- and sometimes worked as late as 2 a.m.”
- Another franchise operator “allowed 242 minors between age 14 and 15 to work beyond the allowable hours.” The Department of Labor assessed the employer with $143,566 in penalties for the violations.
Baskin-Robbins
- Baskin-Robbins locations across Utah violated federal law by “allowing 64 minor employees, ages 14- to 15-years-old, to work too late in the day and too many hours in a week while school was in session.”
- The eight locations were in American Fork, Bountiful, Clearfield, Layton, Salt Lake City, Sandy, West Jordan and West Valley.
Sonic Drive-In
- “An Atlanta-based private equity firm that operates 60 Sonic Drive-In locations, including eight in South Carolina -- employed 36 children, ages 14 and 15, to work illegally.”
- Another operator with “locations in Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia — employed 55 children, ages 14 and 15, to work outside of legally allowed hours.”
- Six Nevada locations illegally employed 14- and 15-year-old teenagers to work beyond allowable hours, and “assigned them to operate manual deep fryers, a task considered a hazardous occupation.”
Chick-fil-A
- In Utah, investigators determined two franchises illegally employed 237 minors, allowing “14- and 15-year-old employees to work past permitted hours, and for too many hours in a day.”
- Investigators found a North Carolina operator “allowed three workers under the age of 18 to either operate, load or unload a trash compactor, all violations of federal child labor regulations that prohibit employing minors to perform hazardous jobs.”
Jersey Mike’s Subs
- In Northern Virginia, four locations employed “more than a dozen employees under the age of 16 to perform dangerous tasks and work longer than permitted in violation of federal child labor regulations.”
- In four different locations in South Carolina, a franchise allowed “14 minor-aged children to operate power-driven meat slicers, a hazardous occupation under federal law.” That same franchise operator also had children working longer hours than allowed.
Green America is a non-profit organization representing over 250,000 individual members and 2,000 small businesses. Our mission is to harness economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.
The Child Labor Coalition (CLC) represents millions of Americans through 37 organizations that fight to protect worker rights, human rights, and child rights. CLC members include the nation’s largest union, the National Education Association, the National Consumers League, Human Rights Watch, and the Fair Labor Association, as well as numerous groups that are also concerned about the welfare of vulnerable children at risk of child labor exploitation.
In April, the two groups launched a separate anti-child labor campaign aimed at four top U.S. meat processing companies (Perdue Farms, JBS, Tyson and Cargill) including launching a consumer petition and engaging a network of allied grassroots groups on the ground across the country.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Parke Qua for Green America, (216) 276-2476 or pqua@hastingsgroupmedia.com.
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Green America is the nation’s leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America provides the economic strategies, organizing power and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today’s social and environmental problems. http://www.GreenAmerica.org
