Employee Abuse at a Franchise

Hi, This might be a tough one to win in a court but any advice would be greatly appreciated. My mother has worked in the same restaurant for the past 13 years. In her years she has received numerous praises from health inspectors for her proper procedures (she is a clean freak.) Due to Obamacare only a couple of employees were selected to receive healthcare, she was not among those, instead they chose their party group and make her work days the inspector will be coming. Screwed up? Yes! Illegal? Don't think so... The managers are constantly slandering her name to other employees, yet when it comes down to inspector week she is LITERALLY not allowed to take days off even if it's to go to a doctor. She had been attending physical therapy for a work injury, she was instructed not to lift more than 20lbs. Except the managers tell her to lift things or not go to work, when she complains about the pain they tell her the item she is lifting is not over 20lbs, I am a former employee, the syrup is for 5gallons of soda, it weighs 53lbs. When she obtained that injury she was not taken to a doctor because she was not bleeding. Instead she was told to go home, so her only option was to limp to her car and drive home, NOT ONE PERSON ASSISTED HER even though she was having difficulty getting off the ground. She rarely receives a lunch break because "there is no one else to cover her." The managers are perfectly capable of cooking but would rather chat away. The first year that I had worked there we did not have any breaks of any kind, honestly it was a shock when we were told we were to receive breaks, this means that my mother spent the first 8 years without a break. We have talked to the supervisor and the actual owner of this specific franchise without any results. We have many stories like these with current and former employees that could testify. We are afraid of pursing legal action since losing a case will result in loss of job, in a place with the highest unemployment.
I had a hard time selecting a topic as most of those would apply to our situation. I have just described the tip of the iceberg, this ranges from racism to theft on behalf of the managers. Why not leave right? In a place with no work, bills to pay and mouths to feed, it's not that easy.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Why did you choose to ignore the instruction to identify the U.S. state?

If she is being required to work in excess of medically ordered restrictions following an on-the-job injury, she should consult a worker's compensation lawyer with the details.

If she does not like the fact that her employer makes her schedule, well, such is life in the working world.

Her right to breaks will depend on the length of her shifts and the laws of her undisclosed state.

If she has complaints about disparate treatment due to her race, I can't begin to guess why you have chosen not to tell us about that treatment.

...and she is free to search for a new job.....