Subway Franchisees Agree to Avoid Child Labor Law Violations

The owners of 14 Subway sandwich shops in the San Francisco Bay Area agreed to avoid child labor law violations and pay over $265,000 in back pay, as part of a deal to settle US Department of Labor claims that minor workers were put in unsafe situations and paid with bad checks.

The DOL in April sued franchise operators John Michael Meza and Jessica Leyva Meza, owners of MZS Enterprises LLC and Crave Brands LLC, for Fair Labor Standards Act and child labor violations. The agency alleged the Mezas, the companies, and supervisor Hamza Ayesh “willfully violate federal child labor ...