A federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor at Flounder’s Chowder House found several pay practice and child labor violations, including the failure to pay sushi chefs overtime wages due and the employment of 15-year-old workers for more hours per week than the law allows.
The department’s Wage and Hour Division determined Fred Flounder Inc., operating as Flounder’s Chowder House, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s child labor, overtime and recordkeeping provisions by permitting seven, 15-year-olds to work beyond legally allowed hours, including working more than eight hours on a non-school day.