Young children found working at McDonald’s

Department of Labor finds 305 children working at McDonald’s in several states.

Some were as young as 10.

Dozens of restaurants are violating labor laws.

Investigations by the US Department of Labor uncovered children as young as 10 working at McDonald’s. The government agency began with an investigation in Kentucky, which found three franchises violating child labor laws.

The Wage and Hours Division of the US Department of Labor found that three franchises, with dozens of restaurants, were employing minors. Two 10 year olds were discovered working late hours.

Investigation discovers 10-year-old children working at McDonald’s in Kentucky

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The investigations are part of the division’s ongoing work to stop child labor abuses in the Southeast region. The Wage and Hour Division found the two 10-year-old boys working at a Louisville McDonald’s, but that’s not all.

They were working until two in the morning, in addition to not receiving payment for their services. However, these are not the only irregularities that were found at Bauer Food LLC, Archways Richwood LLC and Bell Restaurant Group I LLC, which are three separate franchisees that operate dozens of McDonald’s locations.

Hundreds of minors were working at the restaurant chain

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After investigating the three franchisees, which have 62 McDonald’s stores in Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio, it was discovered that they have employed 305 minors to work more than what is legally allowed. Investigations led to $212,544 in civil monetary penalties for the employers

District director of the Wage and Hour Division in Louisville, Kentucky, Karen Garnett-Civils noted: “Too often, employers fail to follow the child labor laws that protect young workers (…) 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.”

Irregularities found at the three franchises

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According to the US Department of Labor, Louisville-based Bauer Food LLC, with 10 McDonald’s locations, reportedly employed 24 children under the age of 16 who were working more hours than legally allowed. In addition to discovering two 10-year-old children who worked without pay and sometimes until two in the morning.

On the other hand, Walton-based Archways Richwood LLC, with 27 stores, let 242 minors between the ages of 14 and 15 work more hours than allowed. Louisville-based Bell Restaurant Group I LLC owns four McDonald’s locations and Brdancat Management Inc., a larger company that includes Jesse Bell I, Jesse Bell V and Bell Restaurant Group II operates 20 other locations in Maryland, Indiana and Kentucky that allowed 39 workers ages 14 and 15 to work more hours than the law allows.