The Department of Labor has fined three McDonald’s franchisees in Kentucky for violating labor laws. The franchisees were found to have employed more than 300 children who worked longer hours than legally permitted, among other violations. One franchisee even had two 10-year-olds working without pay as late as 2 a.m at its locations. Shockingly, one of these children was tasked with operating a deep fryer, a responsibility that is explicitly prohibited for individuals under the age of 16 according to the Labor Department’s regulations.
The Department of Labor has imposed a fine of almost $40,000 on Bauer Food, which runs 10 locations in Louisville, for various violations. One such violation was the employment of 10-year-old children who were involved in tasks like preparing and distributing food orders, cleaning the store, working at the drive-thru window, and operating a register, as per the Labor Department’s findings.
“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,” said wage and hour division district director Karen Garnett-Civils in a news release.
The crackdown happened after the government investigated fast-food employment practices in the southeast with an eye on teenage — and younger — workers. “We are seeing an increase in federal child labor violations, including allowing minors to operate equipment or handle types of work that endangers them or employs them for more hours or later in the day than federal law allows,” Garnett-Civils said.
In addition to the fine imposed on Bauer Food, the Department of Labor has also penalized Archways Richwood, which operates 27 McDonald’s locations in Walton, with a fine of $143,566. The reason for this fine was allowing 242 minors, aged between 14 and 15, to work beyond the legal limits. Bell Restaurant Group I, which operates four locations in Louisville, has also been fined $29,267 for similar violations. The company allowed 39 minors, aged 14 and 15, to work longer than permitted, and even permitted two of them to work during school hours.
Attempts to contact the three franchisees for their comments were unsuccessful at the time of reporting.
According to a press release, the wage division revealed that it found 688 minors working illegally in hazardous jobs, which is the highest number since 2011. The release cited an example of a 15-year-old employee who sustained hot-oil burns while operating a deep fryer at a McDonald’s location in Morristown, Tennessee.
The government’s actions are particularly notable as some conservative groups and multiple states have been advocating to roll back child-labor laws. For instance, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a law in March that eliminated regulations necessitating work permits for 14- and 15-year-olds prior to engaging in paid employment. In Ohio, a bill is being proposed that would allow minors aged 14 and 15 to work until 9 p.m. during the school year, which is later than what federal laws permit. Furthermore, in Minnesota and Iowa, bills that seek to ease child-labor laws are making progress.
In February, the Biden administration launched an initiative aimed at addressing child labor in industries that predominantly employ low-wage and migrant workers, who are at higher risk of exploitation. Experts suggest that a tight labor market and an increased number of unaccompanied children arriving from Latin America have contributed to the rise in child-labor-law violations.
