Prober Asks Subpoena for Jack in the Box CEO

House investigators said Monday they may issue a subpoena for Jack Goodall Jr., chief executive of the Jack in the Box fast-food chain, for questioning about a 1990 report alleging that the San Diego firm has the worst record of child labor violations in California.

Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Burlingame), chairman of the House Government Operations subcommittee on employment and housing, will ask the panel to authorize a subpoena for Goodall at a meeting in Washington on Wednesday.

Subcommittee counsel Stuart Weisberg said Goodall declined an invitation to appear voluntarily at a scheduled Aug. 7 hearing in Redwood City, during which the panel will review federal enforcement of child labor laws in California.

Foodmaker, the San Diego-based parent company of Jack in the Box, was fined $125,000 last summer for a series of child labor law violations, a company spokeswoman said. Many of the violations, she said, were connected to the company’s former practice of hiring 14- and 15-year-old workers, an age bracket that is subject to strict work rules.

After refusing to return telephone calls, Weisberg said, Goodall sent a telefaxed message to the subcommittee last week stating that he and Bob Nugent, the firm’s executive vice president for operations, “unfortunately” would not be not able to attend the hearing.

“Please keep us informed if we may be of some help to you in the future,” Goodall’s reply concluded. As a result, Weisberg said, Lantos decided to seek Goodall’s testimony by subpoena.

Through a spokeswoman, Goodall said Monday that he had offered to send his vice president for human resources to answer questions. But the company had not heard back yet from the committee’s staff.

The panel held hearings last year after the Labor Department conducted two major sweeps of fast-food outlets across the nation to check for violations of child labor laws, which specify minimum age requirements for employees and limit hours for those under 16. The laws also forbid those below 16 from operating dangerous machinery.

Weisberg said federal agents who checked Jack in the Box restaurants in California discovered 354 violations of child labor laws involving 284 minors during the crackdowns in March and June of 1990.

The alleged violations included the hiring of minors under 14 years old, allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to work longer hours than allowed by law and permitting youngsters under 16 to operate hazardous equipment.

The subcommittee held hearings last year involving the four largest violators nationwide: Burger King, Domino’s, McDonald’s and Little Caesar’s.

Jack in the Box was asked to testify at next week’s hearing because it had the worst record of any fast-food chain in California, subcommittee aides said. Other firms--including Taco Bell, with 78 violations, and Kentucky Fried Chicken, 58 violations--were far behind the number of offenses listed for Jack in the Box.

The subcommittee also has scheduled testimony by Samuel Walker, acting assistant secretary of labor for employment standards, and Simon Reyes, assistant California labor commissioner. A study of job injuries suffered by young people will be presented by Dr. Robert Ryder of Mt. Sinai hospital in New York City.