Burger King. PC: Fox 11 Online
(WTAQ-WLUK) — The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development found 1,656 child labor and wage violations at more than 100 Burger King locations across the state.
Gov. Tony Evers says it’s the largest determination of child labor and wage payment violations in modern Wisconsin history.
DWD’s Equal Rights Division opened an investigation into Cave Enterprises Operations LLC, which operates 105 Burger King franchises across Wisconsin, after a review of department records revealed 33 separate child labor and wage payment complaints against individual franchises from 2020 to 2023. DWD reviewed records related to the employment of minors from Jan. 1, 2023, through Jan. 25, 2025, and determined that Cave Enterprises violated Wisconsin child labor laws at least 1,656 times during the investigative period.
The DWD alleges Cave Enterprises had 593 employees, aged 14 and 15, begin work without a child labor permit, violating Wisconsin’s Employment of Minor Laws, 627 minor employees worked shifts of six hours or more without the meal break mandated under Wisconsin law, and hundreds of minor employees under age 16 worked before or after allowed hours or worked more hours than permitted for school-age workers.
According to the company’s website, here is a list of Burger Kings it currently operates in Northeast Wisconsin. The state did not specify which locations had violations:
Waupaca
- 1096 West Fulton Street
Shawano
- 1242 E. Green Bay St.
Bonduel
- 100 Express Way
Green Bay
- 2328 University Ave
- 2219 Main St.
- 1005 Military Ave
De Pere
- 2582 Monroe Rd.
- 1007 Main St.
Appleton
- 2020 E. Northland Ave.
- 919 W. Wisconsin Ave
- 2511 W. College Ave
- W3154 Van Roy Rd.
Greenville
- W6318 Hwy 10
Oshkosh
- 620 North Main Street
- 800 South Washburn Street
Manitowoc
- 3002 Calumet Ave
Fond du Lac
- 790 West Johnson Street
According to DWD, Cave Enterprises must pay unpaid regular wages, overtime wages, and penalty wages to impacted workers, and also must immediately come into compliance with Wisconsin’s Employment of Minors laws and related regulations, which were found to be violated.
“Here in Wisconsin, we have proud history of making sure workers are treated with dignity and respect, and that’s especially true when it comes to our kids. We have a responsibility to make sure kids who are working are protected from exploitation, predatory employer practices, and being subjected to hazardous or illegal working conditions, and that’s a responsibility we must take seriously. After years of Republican lawmakers working to get rid of Wisconsin’s basic child labor law protections, I’m proud my administration is working to do the opposite by making sure bad actors are held accountable for taking advantage of kids in the workplace,” said Gov. Evers. “I want to thank the folks at the DWD for their hard work to investigate and bring these individuals to justice so these kids receive the compensation they deserve and we can prevent this from happening to our kids in the future. My administration and I are committed to cracking down on fraud and abuse impacting Wisconsin workers, most especially our kids, and we will continue this good work to ensure our laws are working for the folks and families we serve.”
DWD has issued a determination letter to Cave Enterprises with details regarding the violations for each of the employer’s locations and a summary sheet of findings of the unpaid regular wages, overtime wages, and penalty wages for each affected employee. The employer must pay the wages to the respective employees within 20 days of receiving the determination letter. The affected employees will receive all lost wages, which includes up to 200% of liquidated damages for wages during the period in which the employer was violating the law.
Further, the employer must immediately come into compliance with all laws and regulations that were found to be violated and can be held accountable for any subsequent violations.
In addition to payment of unpaid, overtime, and penalty wages, DWD has offered to resolve this matter against Cave Enterprises without court action if Cave Enterprises also pays a penalty, allowed by statute, within 20 days. Under Wis. Stat. 103.82(1)(a), an employer who permits any minor to work in violation of child labor laws may be subject to a forfeiture of $25-$1,000 for each violation. Because of the pervasive nature of these violations across multiple Cave Enterprises franchises in Wisconsin, the number of violations and affected minors, the violation of multiple distinct statutory and regulatory provisions, and DWD’s prior enforcement activity against the employer, which included a failure to pay wages or child labor violations at over a dozen locations, DWD has determined that a penalty is warranted in the amount of up to $500 per violation.
DWD is seeking to resolve this labor standards case without further enforcement action in court but will pursue enforcement in court through the Wisconsin Department of Justice if the employer fails to submit timely payment of wages owed totaling $237,437.29 (payable to the employees) and penalty of up to $828,000 ($500 per violation for 1,656 violations).
The penalty determination letter (of $828,000) will be issued separately from the determination letter detailing unpaid wages and violations. DWD determined the forfeiture amount due to the reasons provided above, but the amount per violation is ultimately a question for the court if Cave does not agree to resolve the matter without judicial intervention.
Comments