A Captain D's franchisee has been fined more than $62,000 for violating federal child labor laws, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
A U.S. Department of Labor investigation found that the Cleveland, Tennessee Captain D’s location had an underage worker operating the manual fryer and doing other tasks that are barred by federal law.
Nashville-based Captain D's is one of the nation's largest seafood fast-food chains, known for its battered fish, shrimp and seafood platters.
Child labor laws prohibit minors from manually lowering food into hot oil deep fryers. Minors ages 14 and 15 were also permitted to operate a commercial-grade batter mixer and to work outside of legally allowed hours at the Cleveland location, according to the Department
of Labor.
As a result, the franchisee paid $62,235 in civil penalties to resolve the child labor violations and signed an enhanced compliance agreement that affects all seven of the owner's current and future locations.
Department of Labor officials said Captain D’s will now modify the uniforms of employees under 16-years-old to distinguish them from older employees, ensure youth workers are informed of their rights and hold managers accountable to child labor regulations, including the possibility of termination for violations.
Captain D's did not immediately respond for comment.
The Department of Labor investigated 976 child labor violations involving 5,272 children under the age of 18 in fiscal year 2025. Employers were fined more than $37 million in civil penalties for those violations, department officials said.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Captain D's franchisee fined $62K for child labor violations
