The U.S. Department of Labor fined a franchisee operating multiple Blaze Fast Fire'd Pizza locations after teen employees were observed performing "dangerous tasks."
The federal agency said Monday that Bryz Guys Inc. — which runs Blaze Fast Fire'd Pizza locations in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada — "willfully employed" more than 20 teens ages 15 to 17, at 10 restaurants.
The teens operated industrial pizza dough mixers, and five of the 15-year-old employees also worked more than three hours on school days, sometimes staying as late as 10:30 p.m., the Department of Labor said. Federal child labor laws prohibit 14 and 15-year-olds from working more than three hours on school days and from working after 7 p.m. starting the day after Labor Day until May 31, the department said.
Bryz Guys Inc. now faces $277,414 in civil penalties for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The California-based Blaze Pizza, which has more than 340 franchise locations across 38 states and six countries, said in a statement to Scripps News, "Our franchisee cooperated fully with the investigation and have adhered to all state and federal labor laws since May 2023."
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"Learning new skills in the workforce is an important part of growing up, but we must protect children and ensure their first jobs are safe and do not interfere with their education or well-being," said Gene Ramos, the Las Vegas district director of the DOL's Wage and Hour Division.
The Department of Labor said the division saw an 83% increase in child labor-related penalties, with more than $8 million, in the 2023 fiscal year. This was a result of the division finding 5,792 children whose employment violated federal law, 502 of which were working "hazardous occupations."
