Posted at 10:21 AM, May 03, 2023
and last updated 7:37 AM, May 03, 2023
(LEX 18) — Three Kentucky McDonald's franchise operators have to pay over $212,000 after federal investigators found 305 minors were working illegally inside their restaurants, including two 10-year-old workers.
The U.S. Department of Labor says the investigations are part of the division's ongoing effort to stop child labor abuses in the Southeast region.
Investigators from the department's Wage and Hour Division investigated Bauer Food LLC, Archways Richwood LLC, and Bell Restaurant Group I LLC, three separate franchisees that operate 62 McDonald's locations across Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, and Ohio. They found at their establishments, 305 children were working more than the legally permitted hours. They also performed tasks that were prohibited by law for young workers.
In one of the cases, investigators determined two 10-year-old children were employed – but not paid – and sometimes worked as late as 2:00 a.m. The Department of Labor says they prepared and distributed food orders, cleaned the store, worked at the drive-thru window, and operated a register.
Investigators also found that one of the two children was allowed to operate a deep fryer, a prohibited task for workers under 16 years old.
"Too often, employers fail to follow the child labor laws that protect young workers," explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Karen Garnett-Civils in Louisville, Kentucky. "Under no...
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