Lang
6/30/24
A North Liberty restaurant where Gov. Kim Reynolds was scheduled to hold a news conference about Iowa’s child labor laws is facing tens of thousands of dollars in federal child labor fines.
Reynolds was scheduled to speak at Sugapeach Chicken & Fish Fry on Pacha Parkway last Monday, but the news conference was cancelled so Reynolds could address flooding in northwest Iowa.
Sugapeach owner Chad Simmons was also scheduled to speak. The two were set to discuss what they called the federal government’s “excessive penalties” against Iowa businesses that employ teens. Last year Reynolds signed into law relaxed age restrictions on minors in the work force…restrictions which were more lax than federal regulations. However, the alleged Sugapeach violations predate the law, with the Department of Labor asking for payroll records and timesheets dating back as far as 2021.
Simmons has now told The Cedar Rapids Gazette that his restaurant is facing $65,000 in fines for having 14- and 15-year-olds work longer shifts than allowed by the federal government. He claims he was only supporting young teens by hiring them to work at his business.
Simmons says if he’s forced to pay the fines, he may go out of business. He told the newspaper that as a black-owned business, it would break his heart that the only way his restaurant can survive is to not employ 14- and 15-year-olds.
Iowa Restaurant Association President and CEO Jessica Dunker told the Gazette that Sugapeach isn’t the only offender, with some Iowa restaurants are facing federal fines as high as $180,000 for using child labor.