MADISON, Wis. (CN) - Governor Tony Evers on Friday gave Burger King franchises across the state less than three weeks to pay over $200,000 to child workers and $800,000 to the state in response to the "largest determination of child labor violations" in Wisconsin history.

"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," Evers said in a press release.

Chicago-based Cave Enterprises Operations LLC, one of the nation's largest Burger King franchise groups, operates 105 locations in Wisconsin. State officials cited 102 of them for wage or child labor violations.

Evers announced Friday that an investigation of company employment records from 2023 to 2025 found at least 1,656 violations of state labor laws.

Investigators found that 593 employees under 15 worked at locations without child labor permits, and 627 workers under 18 worked shifts of six hours or more without required meal breaks.

According to the department, hundreds of minor employees worked during prohibited hours. Employees 15 and younger are permitted to work between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. during the school year and until 9 p.m. in summer.

Investigators also determined that several franchise locations failed to pay minors for all hours worked.

The company must pay $237,437.29 by Feb. 25, mostly in penalty wages, including more than $3,000 in unpaid wages and nearly $2,000 in unpaid overtime.

The department sent Cave Enterprises a letter outlining the violations and payment deadline. The company will send the funds to the department, which will distribute checks to affected workers with an explanation of the unexpected payment.

Each minor will receive any unpaid wages plus a proportional share of the penalty wages.

"Enforcing Wisconsin's labor laws and protecting workers' rights is core to the mission of DWD, and today's determination helps us to advance in that mission," said Workforce Development Secretary Amy Pechacek. "For kids who choose to work, child labor laws provide essential protection to ensure they can continue to do well in school and enjoy the best parts about growing up in Wisconsin."

As part of the settlement, the Wisconsin Department of Justice imposed an additional $828,000 fine - $500 per violation - based on prior violations and the scope of the misconduct, Evers said.

In 2024, Evers vetoed a bill that would have eased child labor rules by allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to work without permits, citing U.S. Labor Department data showing an increase in minors in hazardous jobs, according to a press release.

Cave Enterprises came under investigation after the state's Equal Rights Division received 33 child labor and wage complaints between 2020 and 2023.

Of its 105 Burger King locations, only two made it out of the investigation unscathed - one in a suburb of Madison that doesn't employ any minors and another in Racine that was found to be in full compliance, according to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

If Cave Enterprises misses the deadline to compensate its minor workers, Evers was clear that legal action would follow. CEO Adam Velarde could not be reached for comment.

Source: Courthouse News Service