BOSTON – The office of Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced on Tuesday, Nov. 26, that franchise locations of Burger King and Popeyes locations across the state received fines over $2 million for employment law violations.
Northeast Foods LLC, which operates dozens of Burger King locations in Massachusetts, received a $2,029,754 fine for violating employment laws, including child labor laws.; Te citation amount includes restitution for unpaid wages and penalties.
The Attorney General’s Office alleges that between January 2022 and March 2023, Northeast Foods failed to pay minimum wage and make timely payments to workers. In some cases, the company allegedly did not pay any wage to workers. The company also allegedly failed to enable workers to earn and use sick time, failed to maintain accurate employee payroll records, and failed to provide certain requested documentation, including payroll records, to the Attorney General’s Office.
The Attorney General’s Office says the company received citations for multiple violations in both 2017 and 2022. In 2019, the company received a citation for failing to maintain a legally required earned sick leave policy at a Burger King location in Marlborough.
Separately, Parikh Network, led by Amish Parikh and Ashish Parikh, based in New Jersey, operates 19 Popeyes franchise location across Massachusetts. The company owns many franchise locations across the country. Parikh Network proposed a Popeyes location in Lincoln Plaza to the Worcester Zoning Board of Appeals in 2022.
The Attorney General’s Office issued Parikh Network fines totaling $212,516, which included restitution for affected workers and penalties. The company allegedly failed to permit three workers to use sick time as legally required and scheduled minors for work during legally prohibited hours and over the state’s total daily and weekly working hour limits.
