MADISON — The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development has uncovered more than 1,656 violations of Wisconsin’s child labor and wage payment laws by a company that runs more than a dozen Burger Kings in the Fox Valley.
In total, Cave Enterprises, operates 105 Burger King franchises in Wisconsin.
LOCATIONS include:
4 in Appleton
3 in Green Bay
2 in De Pere
2 in Oshkosh
1 in Menasha
Gov. Tony Evers today demanded accountability for the sweeping child labor violations affecting over 600 Wisconsin children.
The violations, which occurred during a two-year span ending in January 2025, is the largest determination of child labor and wage payment violations in modern Wisconsin history.
According to DWD, Cave Enterprises must pay unpaid regular wages, overtime wages, and penalty wages to impacted workers, and also must immediately come into compliance with Wisconsin’s Employment of Minors laws and related regulations, which were found to be violated.
DWD’s Equal Rights Division opened an investigation into Cave Enterprises after a review of department records revealed 33 separate child labor and wage payment complaints against individual franchises from 2020 to 2023. DWD reviewed records related to the employment of minors from Jan. 1, 2023, through Jan. 25, 2025, and determined that Cave Enterprises violated Wisconsin child labor laws at least 1,656 times during the investigative period.
Overall, 593 employees aged 14 and 15 were allowed to begin work without a child labor permit, violating Wisconsin’s Employment of Minor Laws, 627 minor employees worked shifts of six hours or more without the meal break mandated under Wisconsin law, and hundreds of minor employees under age 16 worked before or after allowed hours or worked more hours than permitted for school-age workers.
