Global Courant 2023-05-03 08:46:45
On April 3, 2023, a McDonald’s fast food restaurant is seen in Belmont, United States.Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A McDonald’s made 10-year-olds work without pay and until 2 a.m., according to the Labor Department.
The franchisee told Insider that the children were visiting their parent, who worked as a night manager.
The kids worked the cash register and drive-thru, and one kid got to use a deep fryer.
A McDonald’s in Kentucky has been fined for hiring two unpaid 10-year-old children and sometimes making them work until 2 a.m., the Department of Labor said.
The pair of kids were employed by Bauer Food LLC, a Louisville-based operator of 10 McDonald’s restaurants. the department said in a statement Tuesday.
The two children would prepare and serve food orders, clean the restaurant, work the drive-thru storefront and operate a cash register, the labor department said.
Researchers also found that one of the 10-year-olds was allowed to work in a deep fryer, a “prohibited task for employees under 16”, according to the statement.
Bauer Food told Insider that the two children were visiting their parents — a night manager at one of the restaurants — and were not approved by management to be in that part of the restaurant.
According to Bauer Food, all work done by the children was commissioned and in the presence of their parents. The operator said the children’s work was never approved by the franchise’s management or leadership.
Bauer Food added that it has made sure its employees are now clear about company policies regarding children visiting their parent or guardian at work.
“Under no circumstances should a 10-year-old child ever be allowed to work in a fast food kitchen around hot grills, ovens and deep fryers,” said Karen Garnett-Civils, the district director of the payroll and hours department in Louisville, Kentucky. in the department’s statement.
The labor department also found that Bauer Food allowed 22 other teens under the age of 16 to work over hours allowed by law. Federal employment law allows 14- and 15-year-olds to work a maximum of 40 hours during a non-school week and 18 hours during a school week.
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Bauer Food was fined $39,711, the department said. Two other McDonald’s operators – Archways Richmond and Bell Restaurant Group – were also fined for allowing minors to work outside the hours allowed by law.
“These reports are unacceptable, deeply troubling and contrary to the high expectations we have for the entire McDonald’s brand,” Tiffanie Boyd, senior vice president and chief people officer at McDonald’s USA, told Insider in a statement. “It has not escaped our notice that we have a great responsibility to ensure a positive and safe experience for everyone under the Arches.”
“As a mom whose teenage son proudly worked at our local McDonald’s, I feel this on a very personal level,” Boyd added. “We are committed to ensuring that our franchisees have the resources they need to promote safe workplaces for all employees and to enforce compliance with all labor laws.”
Meanwhile, the Labor Department is seeing an increase in federal child labor violations, Garnett-Civils said.
In June 2022, a 15-year-old McDonald’s employee in Morristown suffered severe oil burns while using a deep fryer. according to the Labor Office.
“Any child injured at work is one too many. Child labor laws exist to ensure that when young people work, the work does not endanger their health, well-being or education,” said Garnett-Civils .
Read the original article Insider
