AG Fines Worcester-Area Dunkin' Stores For 1,200 Child Labor Offenses

WORCESTER, MA — The state Attorney General has hit a Concord-based company that owns multiple Dunkin' locations with a $145,000 fine for breaking child labor laws.

According to the AG's office, The Westford Group committed over 1,200 violations at 14 stores located in Worcester, Grafton, Millbury, Westborough, Leominster and Lowell. The violations included failing to get work permits for minors, allowing minors to work before 6 a.m. and after 10 p.m. and allowing minors to work for more than nine hours per day.

A request for comment from the Westford Group was not immediately returned Tuesday morning. We will update this story if we hear back.

The AG's office began investigating the company after a minor complained to officials that they were being required to work more than 10 hours per day. An investigation found that about 50 employees under age 18 experienced labor law violations in a one-year period.

The AG's office did not specify which stores had labor law violations, but Westford Group's website says the company owns the local Dunkin' locations at 990 Grafton St. in Worcester; 124 and 133 Turnpike Road in Westborough; 107 Ward St. in Worcester; 72 Worcester St. in Grafton; the XtraMart along Route 146 in Worcester and Millbury; 177 Southwest Cutoff in Worcester; and Lancaster Street in Leominster.

The AG's office has cited fast food companies in the past, including Dunkin' and Qdoba. The largest child labor law fine of $1.8 million came in 2020 after an investigation found some 13,000 child labor violations at Chipotle locations in Massachusetts.