Local News

Family Dollar allegedly denied its workers lunch breaks; now Maura Healey is fining them $1.5M

“These citations should send a message to all companies that they need to do right by their employees."

AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis

By Arianna MacNeill

1 minute to read

Family Dollar has been cited $1.5 million for violating the state’s meal break law, according to Attorney General Maura Healey’s Office.

There were more than 3,900 violations, Healey said in a press release. The issues had to do with providing a meal break to those working more than six hours in one day with the break being at least a half hour, a press release said.

The issue affected roughly 690 employees over 100 locations, the release said. Family Dollar has about 900 workers in Massachusetts, and 15,000 locations nationally.

In 2018 and 2019, after receiving multiple complaints, investigators found that staffing shortages due to the company cutting payroll left the stores without sufficient staff. Due to that, employees often remained on the premises for their breaks though they should be allowed to leave during that time, according to the release.

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“Workers give us their time, energy, and efforts to keep businesses running and our economy afloat,” Healey said in the release. “These citations should send a message to all companies that they need to do right by their employees and provide meal breaks consistent with the law.”

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