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fredezz t1_j1c7iy3 wrote

I can't imagine what they received for PPP loans...hint

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ripecannon t1_j1crx5f wrote

240k+ is what they got. They're laughing all the way to the bank, and now court. What a fucking joke

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DrMcMeow OP t1_j1ctw9o wrote

quarry tap room

the quarry tap room

they got more than one.

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ripecannon t1_j1cvpl1 wrote

I can't find anything about them receiving a second loan

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800grandave t1_j1cwvt8 wrote

warning hearsay. but my understanding, from my boss where i was in the industry, 75% of ppp loans had to be earmarked for payroll. im sure they used magic accounting to make this work. not condoning anything, trying to understand.

im sure some smart person will fill us in about the loans, and the general nature of shitty bar owners, just dont yell at me.

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ripecannon t1_j1cx69s wrote

Well, I know for a fact a certain restaurant i dont want to name, used their entire PPP to buy a boat.

I know of another restaurant in Brunswick, which I was working at the time, that used their loan for their employees.

So, in my conclusion, I don't think anyone in the government was keeping up with what the loans were used for

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lantech t1_j1d0p17 wrote

why don't you want to name

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ripecannon t1_j1d3ss5 wrote

I might not like the owner, but I'm not going to dox a business that I have friends working for.

Also, as much as I don't like what he did, I don't believe it atrocious enough to warrant vindictive behavior.

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snackexchanger t1_j1der61 wrote

I would call reporting that behavior just, not vindictive

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ripecannon t1_j1dmu1j wrote

No, it's vindictive, considering whatever I say is hearsay. I also don't want to do anything that might jeopardize my friends job. It's hard enough for people to make ends meet, even if it is a dead end job.

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Ambitious_Ask_1569 t1_j1escxm wrote

Billions went to Chinese Shell companies....I don't think oversight was what they were looking for.

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2SticksPureRage t1_j1dqoki wrote

I thought it only had to be earmarked for payroll if they didn’t want to have to pay the loan back. If they choose to pay the loan back they could’ve used it for anything? I am probably most definitely wrong though.

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DrMcMeow OP t1_j1blh7a wrote

The restaurant was found to have violated child labor laws at least 691 times, most of which involved overscheduling employees under the age of 18, along with a handful of violations for employing workers under the age of 16 without permits, according to the Kennebec Journal.

The establishment was initially asked to pay $172,750 to the Department of Labor, but that penalty was reduced by $155,475 in an agreement that owners Steven and Anne Lachance would adhere to a settlement and commit no additional violations.

Of the 691 violations, 520 of them were attributed to workers under the age of 16. Those violations were likely scheduling related, as minors cannot work more than 40 hours a week or eight hours a day when school isn’t in session.

A variety of other stipulations apply to workers under the age of 16, including that they are prohibited from working more than 18 hours a week or three hours a day when school is in session; more than six consecutive days; or between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., except during summer vacation, during which the law prohibits work between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.

The Maine DOL also found that the restaurant employed five minors younger than 16 who did not have work permits, resulting in 78 citations. At least 62 of those violations stemmed from a worker under the age of 16 who was employed between Aug. 20, 2020 and July 20, 2021, according to the Augusta newspaper.

https://web.archive.org/web/20221223021907/https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/12/22/news/central-maine/the-quarry-tap-room-child-labor-violations/

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EngineersAnon t1_j1cesoh wrote

So the fine per violation is less than $25. That doesn't sound like much deterrent.

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ripecannon t1_j1crs2r wrote

Wtf. Why did they reduce the fine? 700 violations is egregious, a 17k isn't even a slap on the wrist

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KYazut t1_j1disbq wrote

170k

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WalkerBRiley t1_j1dj256 wrote

>The establishment was initially asked to pay $172,750 to the Department of Labor, but that penalty was reduced by $155,475 in an agreement that owners Steven and Anne Lachance would adhere to a settlement and commit no additional violations.

17k

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KYazut t1_j1ff85k wrote

Gotcha. My bad. I thought it said “to”, not “by”.

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SeelieForest t1_j1cs1pw wrote

There are a lot of young people and kids in very rough positions needing to make money to keep a roof over their heads.

The country needs far better social protections than the foster care system (which is full of abuse).

Combined with the min wage not being enough to get by on...

So I have a hard time blaming the kids for working or even the company for letting them work unless there was more to the story (like did the company force this on them? Or was it up to the kids to decide how much they wanted to work that week?)

But a blanket "yay these kids can't work as many hours" is naive to the harsh realities some people have to face in this country.

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FrenjaminBanklin t1_j1cu8m8 wrote

The article specifies that most of the violations were for kids under 16. Are there really that many kids that age responsible for paying rent? Who would even rent to a 15 year old?

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SheSellsSeaShells967 t1_j1cy5xs wrote

I worked with kids living in poverty. They aren’t renting themselves. They are helping to pay bills along with parents/guardians. When I worked with these kids about 20 years ago, I heard some pretty rough things. I can only imagine what’s happening to kids now.

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SeelieForest t1_j1czmkb wrote

> Are there really that many kids that age responsible for paying rent?

Yea, especially kids who are trying to stay out of the foster care system or who have siblings and are trying to keep their lives together....

Here on reddit I've seen posts from kids asking for advice in similar situations.

I wish we didn't live in a "lesser evil" world and actually cared to fix any of the problems in our society. But instead we just keep voting to keep things AT BEST the same..... it's monstrous.

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HerbertHamburger t1_j1d71xr wrote

I worked at the age of 14 in this area because I wanted money to spend when I was hanging out with my friends. My parents told me I had to pay for my own gas when I turned 16. I definitely overworked, companies definitely broke the law, but the truth of the matter is some kids in central Maine NEED to work extra to pay for their lunches, gas, and the small bit of luxury they can afford. Never been fond of the owners down there, and some of this is definitely shady, but it’s hard to really blame anyone unless we’re missing something.

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FrenjaminBanklin t1_j1dokcs wrote

That may be so, but I find it unlikely that many minors need to work in excess of 40 hours a week. There are independent adults who support their entire lives on part time jobs. 40+ hours a week goes far beyond paying for gas and a teenage social life.

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HerbertHamburger t1_j1e0h4t wrote

It isn't 1990 anymore, gas + teenage social life is pretty damn expensive. 40 hours a week as a busser/dishwasher probably only pulls in $10/hr. Some of these kids probably even have to buy their own vehicles, get insurance.

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FrenjaminBanklin t1_j1ecyf9 wrote

Ok, you aren't going to hear me argue against the idea that people deserve to be paid more for their labor.

But child labor laws and the 40 hour work week weren't just arbitrarily instituted, they were brought about to protect people from being taken advantage of by their employers. If there are minors that are struggling to provide themselves with necessities, you aren't going to convince me that the answer is to have them work 40+ hours at week.

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HerbertHamburger t1_j1erzk0 wrote

All I was saying is that the kids maybe asked to work more than was allowed to help pay for some of these things. It isn’t uncommon in this area for kids to help out financially at home. It’s not fair to the kids, they shouldn’t have to sacrifice school/their childhood to keep things afloat while our miserable government (republican and democrat included) ruin everything for everyone, but that’s the reality of some central Maine families.

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WalkerBRiley t1_j1djcvf wrote

It takes nothing to get a work permit. It takes even less to turn away a very underaged person who is required to have a work permit.

This could all be avoided and be a non issue if people just followed the damned laws.

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SeelieForest t1_j1doq3j wrote

Except to get an underage work permit... you have to

  1. Be enrolled in school

  2. Not under suspension or habitually truant

  3. passing a majority of courses

For someone underage that NEEDS to work (especially 40 hour work weeks), I'm going to guess they don't have 1 or more of these things.

Pretending like those criteria are "nothing" is completely dismissing the very challenging situations some kids find themselves in.

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LaChanz t1_j1bt0qk wrote

No relation.

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WalkerBRiley t1_j1diypi wrote

>The establishment was initially asked to pay $172,750 to the Department of Labor, but that penalty was reduced by $155,475 in an agreement that owners Steven and Anne Lachance would adhere to a settlement and commit no additional violations.

They will.

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Born_in_Maine t1_j1eg4fb wrote

"I’m impressed with those kids, pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. Reminds me of a young me. I got my first job when I was nine working at a sheet metal factory. In two weeks, I was running the floor. Child labor laws are ruining this country." - Steve Lachance, probably

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MrsMurphysChowder t1_j1c4ccc wrote

That's a great restaurant. I hope they don't go under because of this.

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saigonk t1_j1c5sa1 wrote

Yeah, they fucked up, if they close it’s on them and there should be no sympathy.

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