The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) fined three McDonald's franchisees after an investigation determined that hundreds of children -- including two 10-year-olds -- were working there in violation of federal labor law.
The investigation was part of the Wage and Hour Division's efforts to end child labor abuses in the Southeast, the Labor Department said in a news release on Tuesday.
As part of their investigation, officials found that Louisville, Kentucky-based McDonald's franchisee operator, Bauer Food LLC, hired two10-year old's to work at one of its locations--unpaid--and as late as 2 a.m., with one of the children even permitted to operate a deep fryer, a task for which workers must be at least 16 years old.
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“Below the minimum age for employment, they prepared and distributed food orders, cleaned the store, worked at the drive-thru window and operated a register,” the Labor Department said Tuesday.
Under Kentucky's child labor laws, minors younger than 14 years old are not allowed to work.
“Too often, employers fail to follow the child labor laws that protect young workers,” Louisville, Kentucky, Wage and Hour Division district director Karen Garnett-Civils, said in a statement. “Under no circumstances should there ever be a 10-year-old child working in a fast-food kitchen around hot grills, ovens and deep fryers.”
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