Vicky Arias, FISM News
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Three McDonald’s franchisees based in Kentucky were found to have committed child labor violations, the Department of Labor announced on Tuesday.
Altogether, three separate franchisees, Bauer Food LLC, Archways Richwood LLC, and Bell Restaurant Group I LLC, run 62 McDonald’s restaurants across Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, and Ohio. The department’s investigations led to the employers being fined a total of $212,544.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that a total of 305 minors were allowed to work more hours than permitted by law and perform duties not legally authorized. Two 10-year-old children were discovered to be working unpaid and, at times, until two o’clock in the morning.
According to CNN Business, a top executive at McDonald’s USA, Tiffanie Boyd, called the findings of the investigation “unacceptable.”
“These reports are unacceptable, deeply troubling, and run afoul of the high expectations we have for the entire McDonald’s brand,” Boyd stated. “We are committed to ensuring our franchisees have the resources they need to foster safe workplaces for all employees and maintain compliance with all labor laws.”
Wage and Hour Division District Director Karen Garnett-Civils stated that 10-year-old children should never be subjected to the dangers of hot equipment used in restaurants.
“Too often, employers fail to follow the child labor laws that protect young workers,” Garnett-Civils said. “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.”
One of the franchisees, Louisville, Kentucky-based Bauer Food LLC, which operates 10 McDonald’s restaurants, allowed two 10-year-old children to prepare food, work the drive-thru, clean the stores, and permitted one of them to operate a deep fryer. The same franchisee permitted a total of 24 minors under 16 years of age to work longer hours than legally allowed.
An ABC News report stated that “according to Bauer Food, the 10-year-olds were not employed at the company, but were a night manager’s kids who were visiting them at work.”
The report asserts that “Bauer Food said…management did not approve of the kid’s being in that part of the restaurant, adding that the company has made it clear to its employees this behavior is against policy, and addressed the policy regarding children visiting their parents at work.”
Another Louisville-based operator, Bell Restaurant Group I LLC, which runs four locations, permitted 39 minors, between the ages of 14 and 15 years old, to work more hours than legally permitted.
Additionally, a Walton, Kentucky-based franchisee, Archways Richwood LLC, which operates 27 restaurant locations, permitted 242 minors ages 14 and 15 to work more hours than permitted by law.
“One child injured at work is one too many,” Garnett-Civils stated. “Child labor laws exist to ensure that when young people work, the job does not jeopardize their health, well-being or education.”