Taco Bell Cited for Child Labor Violations

A Taco Bell fast food restaurant in Mira Mesa has been cited for violations of child labor laws as part of a concentrated strike force crackdown last month by U.S. Department of Labor investigators.

The citation was part of a nationwide crackdown from March 12 and 14 by the Labor Department that turned up 10,987 children said to be illegally employed. In California alone, the investigations of 218 employers turned up 880 alleged violations.

The Mira Mesa Taco Bell violation, however, was the only one found in the San Diego area, according to the Labor Department.

The Taco Bell at 8389 Mira Mesa Boulevard was cited for seven violations of regulations which stipulate that 14- and 15-year-old workers may not work more than 3 hours a day or later than 7 p.m. on school days. Children of that age are also prohibited from working during school hours.

Workers in that age category are also barred from working more than 18 hours a week or from working more than eight hours a day on weekends when school is in session, said Robert Kelley, director of the Department of Labor’s San Diego district office.

The owner of the Taco Bell, Bob St. John of Escondido, was fined $1,260 as a result of the citations, according to the department’s regional spokesman in San Francisco. St. John was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Elizabeth Dole said in a statement that cases of illegally employed children are on the rise and that the department has begun publicizing the names of violators in an effort to discourage child labor law abuses. The names of about 300 employers nationwide were released, including the local Taco Bell.

Child labor laws also prohibit children from working certain kinds of jobs including manufacturing, meat processing, public messenger work or jobs that require the operation of motor vehicles, power machinery or tools.