Eleven Crumbl Cookie locations, including four in Utah, violate child labor laws, the US Department of Labor announced Tuesday. (Graham Dudley, KSL.com)
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SALT LAKE CITY — Eleven Crumbl Cookie locations, including four in Utah, violate child labor laws, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Tuesday.
Crumbl Cookie’s 11 operators in six states face financial penalties for allowing young employees — many as young as 14 or 15 — to work longer hours than permitted by law or under conditions dangerous or prohibited.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found violations affecting 46 workers at select Crumbl Cookies franchisees in California, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Utah and Washington, according to a Labor Department statement. Violations range from underage employees working longer and later than the law allows to minors using “potentially dangerous” ovens and machinery.
Whether school is in session or not, 14- and 15-year-old workers cannot work more than eight hours a day or exceed 40 hours in a work week, the statement said. Also, employers must not allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. every day, except from June 1 to Labor Day, when night work hours are extended until at 21h. out of 18 are banned from working in occupations considered hazardous by federal law, the Labor Department said.
“Employers must ensure that part-time employment does not compromise the safety or education of young workers,” Betty Campbell, regional administrator for the Wage and Hour Division, said in the release. “It is the responsibility of every employer who hires underage workers to understand and comply with child labor laws or face costly consequences.”
The division conducted child labor investigations at the following Utah Crumbl locations:
generous
- Operator: BE Bountiful LLC
- Minors impacted: 9
- Penalties: $7,423
Downtown
- Operator: BE Centerville LLC
- Minors impacted: 5
- Penalties: $3,624
layton
- Operator: Farr Bakeries LLC
- Minors impacted: 3
- Penalties: $5,460
Ogden
- Operator: SBP Investments II LLC
- Minors impacted: 1
- Penalties: $1,820
Crumbl did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cookiewars
Earlier this year, Crumbl fired the first shot in Utah ongoing “cookie wars”, case a federal lawsuit accusing rivals Dirty Dough and Crave of what he calls “confusingly similar” logos, websites and other marketing materials. The lawsuit also accused Dirty Dough of copying recipes, claiming the founder’s brother is a former Crumbl employee.
The lawsuits, filed in U.S. District Court on May 10, say Crumbl is seeking treble damages from Crave and Dirty Dough, in an amount the court finds fair. An amended lawsuit against Crave was filed on June 29.
Additionally, the lawsuits against Crave claim that Crave co-founder Trent English visited a Crumbl site and even asked to be franchised shortly before starting his own business in 2019.
Crave filed a response to the lawsuit on June 8, denying that English ever requested or was denied a Crumbl franchise. He also denies that Crave violates any intellectual property rights.
The lawsuit against Dirty Dough claims that Bradley Maxwell, identified as one of the founders of Dirty Dough, was a process engineer at Crumbl from March 2019 to June 2019. Through this position, he learned about recipes, methods and Crumbl formulas, as well as its branding. identity, the lawsuits allege.
He also signed agreements stating that he would not disclose such confidential and privileged information at any time during or after his employment, according to Crumbl.
In Dirty Dough’s response to the lawsuit, the company only said Maxwell worked for Crumbl in 2019 and denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
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