A federal court ordered the owners of 14 Subway locations north of San Francisco to pay employees nearly USD 1 million in damages and back pay — and also to sell or shut their businesses, with any sale proceeds going to the Department of Labor.

Federal investigators said franchise owners John and Jessica Meza directed children as young as 14 to operate dangerous machinery, assigned minors work hours that violated federal law, and failed to pay their employees regularly, including by issuing hundreds of bad checks and illegally keeping tips left by customers.

The Labor Department also charged that the Mezas coerced employees in an attempt to prevent them from cooperating with its investigation, sometimes threatening children who attempted to raise concerns about the work environment.

According to the court order, the owners acknowledged several of the Labor Department's findings. Messages left for the Mezas at email addresses included in the settlement were not immediately returned