Boston Market is ordered to close 27 New Jersey locations and pay $2.6M over ‘multiple violations of worker rights’ including failure to pay wages

New Jersey officials have ordered Boston Market to close more than two dozen locations until the ailing restaurant chain pays nearly $2.6 million in fines for abusing workers’ rights.

The New Jersey Department of Labor’s shutdown order on Tuesday closed 27 locations of the rotisserie chicken chain, which exploded in popularity in the mid-90s but has since declined.

The department said its investigation found “multiple violations” of employee rights at the chain, including more than $600,000 in back wages owed to 314 employees, failure to pay minimum wage and failure to pay earned sick leave.

“With restaurants across the country, Boston Market needs to set a better example for fair treatment of its employees,” said Joseph Petrecca, deputy commissioner of NJDOL’s Division of Wage and Hours and Contract Compliance.

In its heyday, Boston Market had about 1,200 locations across the U.S., but that number has dwindled to about 300, most of them concentrated in the Northeast and Florida, with some outposts scattered and farther west.

Once famous for serving rotisserie chicken, the dish’s widespread availability in supermarkets across the country has tarnished the restaurant chain’s popularity and market share.

The chain tried to turn a corner by expanding its offerings to include turkey, meatloaf and ham, but the brand remained largely synonymous with chicken in the minds of many customers.

In 2021, the labor shortage put pressure on workers and led to a workers’ strike, according to Insiderresulting in the closure of ten percent of all stores.

The privately owned chain is believed to operate about 30 locations in New Jersey, meaning the stop-work order will close nearly all, if not all, Boston Markets in the Garden State this week.

The New Jersey Department of Labor says the investigation was launched after the Department of Wage and Hour and Contract Compliance received a complaint in November 2022 from a Boston Market employee at a Hamilton location.

Subsequently, regulators have received nearly three dozen additional complaints citing various New Jersey Boston Market locations.

Once famous for serving rotisserie chicken, the dish’s widespread availability in supermarkets across the country has tarnished the restaurant chain’s popularity and market share

An investigation found ‘multiple violations’ of worker rights across the chain, including more than $600,000 in back wages owed to 314 workers, failure to pay minimum wage and failure to pay earned sick leave

State investigators found $607,471 in back wages owed to 314 workers, as well as $1,214,942 in damages.

Boston Chicken was also awarded administrative fees of $182,241.30 and $549,500 in administrative fines, for a total of $2,554,154.30 in fines and damages.

The closing order can be lifted if and when any back wages and fines have been paid and all related issues resolved.

Initial findings of the investigation were sent to Boston Market’s headquarters in Golden, Colorado, and CEO Jignesh Pandya in Pennsylvania, officials said.

Boston Market has requested a hearing to appeal the work stoppage, and officials have seven days to schedule the hearing.

Boston Market did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com Wednesday afternoon.