WRCB-TV

The owner of 20 Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries locations has entered an enhanced compliance agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor that aims to improve working conditions for minor-aged employees and compliance with federal labor regulations at their 20 locations in Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

The agreement comes after the department’s Wage and Hour Division investigated The Little Mint Inc. – operating as Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries in Crossville – and determined the employer employed 13 children to work after 7 p.m. between Labor Day and June 1 and more than three hours during a school day, both violations of the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. In addition, the employer employed a 15-year-old to use manual fryers for cooking fries, a prohibited task for workers under the age of 16.

As part of the agreement, The Little Mint must take the following steps at each of their establishments – to include any current and future locations owned, controlled or operated alone or in conjunction with others – to ensure future compliance:

• Not allow 14- and 15-year-olds to use manual fryers or engage in cooking activities in any of the occupations prohibited under the law.
• Refrain from employing 14- and 15-year-olds to work outside of the hours permitted by law.
• Distribute a copy of the child labor provisions for non-agricultural occupations under the FLSA to all current and future locations owned by the enterprise and require all managers and shift leaders to review it annually and return a compliance acknowledgement.
• Post notices on machines that 14- and 15-year-olds are not legally allowed to use.
• Require all 14- and 15-year-old workers, and their parents or guardians, to sign an understanding of the child labor occupational and hours requirements under the law.
• Ensure area directors perform quarterly reviews of time records for 14- and 15-year-old workers.
• Mandate that employees under the age of 16 are distinguishable from other workers with modified uniform requirements and different color name tags.
  

  

The agency assessed $11,453 in penalties for The Little Mint to address the child labor violations.

In February 2012, Andy’s Cheesesteaks and Cheeseburgers announced that it had changed its name to Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries.

In January 2021, it was announced that Hwy 55 would be expanding to Crossville, Tennessee, at the corner of North Main Street and Chuckles Parkway.