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Finding 10-year-old kids working in a kitchen late at night near dangerous cooking equipment is a cause for child labor concern and action by the U.S. Department of Labor. It is also a food safety concern.
Investigators from the department’s Wage and Hour Division found two 10-year-old workers at a Louisville, KY, McDonald’s restaurant among many violations of federal labor laws committed by three Kentucky McDonald’s franchise operators. The investigations are part of the division’s ongoing effort to stop child labor abuses in the Southeast region.
The division investigated Bauer Food LLC, Archways Richwood LLC, and Bell Restaurant Group I LLC — three separate franchisees that operate a total of 62 McDonald’s locations across Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, and Ohio — and found they employed 305 children to work more than the legally permitted hours and perform tasks prohibited by law for young workers. In all, the investigations led to assessments of $212,544 in civil penalties against the employers.
“Too often, employers fail to follow the child labor laws that protect young workers,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Karen Garnett-Civils in Louisville, Kentucky. “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.”
The division’s investigations found the following:
Federal child labor regulations limit the types of jobs minor-aged employees can perform and the hours they can work. Hours limits for 14- and 15-year-olds include:
“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,” said Garnett-Civils. “An employer who hires young workers must know the rules. An employer, parent or young worker with questions can contact us for help understanding their obligations and rights under the law.”
While most cases with child labor violations involving minors working more and later than the law permits, the division found 688 minors employed illegally in hazardous occupations in the fiscal year 2022, the highest annual count since the fiscal year 2011. Among those was a 15-year-old minor injured while using a deep fryer at a McDonald’s in Morristown, Tennessee in June 2022.
“One child injured at work is one too many. Child labor laws exist to ensure that when young people work, the job does not jeopardize their health, well-being or education,” added Garnett-Civils.
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