NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A McDonald’s franchise that controls 12 restaurants in metro New Orleans violated child labor laws and James Caldwellhas hired more than 80 minors in two states, the U.S. Department of Labor said Tuesday.

CLB Investments LLC in Metairie employed 72 workers who are 14 and 15 years old — allowing them to work longer and later than federal law permits at 12 restaurants in New Orleans, Kenner, Jefferson and Metairie, the department said.

Investigators with the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division also determined the employer allowed three children to operate manual deep fryers, which is prohibited for employees under age 16.

Other news Putting a floating barrier in the Rio Grande to stop migrants is new. The idea isn’t. Texas’ floating barrier on the Rio Grande is new, but a former Trump administration official says the idea isn’t. Climate change leaves fingerprints on July heat waves around the globe, study says Climate change’s sweaty fingerprints are all over the July heat waves gripping much of the globe. A new study finds these intense and deadly hot spells in the American Southwest and Southern Europe could not have occurred without it. Man gets 12 years in prison for a shooting at a Texas school that injured 3 when he was a student A 19-year-old has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after being found guilty of attempted capital murder in a 2021 shooting at a Dallas-area high school that wounded two other students and a teacher. Biden administration sues Texas governor over Rio Grande buoy barrier that’s meant to stop migrants The lawsuit filed Monday asks a court to force Texas to remove a line of bright orange, wrecking ball-sized buoys that the Biden administration says raises humanitarian and environmental concerns.

The franchise received a $56,106 civil penalty for the violations, according to the news release.

The division also found similar violations at four McDonald’s locations operated in Texas by Marwen & Son LLC in Cedar Park, Georgetown and Leander.

Investigators found that in Texas, the company employed 10 minors, 14- to 15-years-old, to work hours longer shifts than is permitted by law. They also learned the employer allowed seven children to operate a manual fryer and oven, and two of the seven to also operate a trash compactor. Marwen & Son was assessed $21,466 in civil penalties for its violations.

“Employers must never jeopardize the safety and well-being of young workers or interfere with their education,” explained Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Betty Campbell in Dallas. “While learning new skills in the workforce is an important part of growing up, an employer’s first obligation is to make sure minor-aged children are protected from potential workplace hazards.”

These findings follow a May announcement of federal investigations that found three McDonald’s franchise operators violating child labor laws, involving more than 300 children, some as young as 10, at 62 locations in four states.