Two 10-year-old boys were found working at dawn at a McDonald’s restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky, United States and the situation has led to a major controversy.
The complaint was filed by the US Department of Labor for violation of the child labor law.
The agency also found that three franchisees who own more than 60 McDonald’s locations in Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio, “Employed 305 children to work longer hours than permitted by law and perform tasks prohibited by law for young workers,” the Department of Labor said in a statement.
“Department Wage and Hours Division investigators found two 10-year-old workers at a Louisville McDonald’s restaurant amid numerous federal labor law violations committed by three Kentucky McDonald’s franchise operators,” the statement said. “Researchers have also established that two 10-year-old boys were hired – but not paid – and sometimes worked until 2 in the morning”.
Tiffanie Boyd, senior vice president and chief people officer of McDonald’s USA, told CNN: “These reports are unacceptable, deeply troubling and go against the high expectations we have for the entire McDonald’s brand. We are committed to ensuring that our franchisees have the resources needed to promote safe workplaces.
Affiliate Bauer Foods LLC confirmed to CNN that the two 10-year-old boys would be employed they were the sons of a night manager who visited their father at work and they didn’t have franchise organization management approval to be in that part of the restaurant.
Two of the other franchisees, Archways Richwood and Bell Restaurant Group, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The three franchisees face a combined total of $212,754 in civil penalties for child labor violations, according to the filing.
“Too often, employers fail to comply with child labor laws that protect young workers,” said Karen Garnett-Civils, district director of the agency’s wages and hours division. “Under no circumstances should there be a 10-year-old working in a fast food kitchen. around hot grills, ovens and fryers.
Source: Clarin
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