A Department of Labor investigation found that 10-year-old boys were working at McDonald’s until 2 am and tracked a 69% increase in illegally employed children since 2018.
More than 300 minors, including two 10-year-olds, were found working at McDonald’s later and longer than the law permits, a Department of Labor investigation found.
The big picture: Child labor is on the rise in the U.S., and the federal government announced a crackdown earlier this year after tracking a 69% increase in illegally employed kids since 2018.
- In the last fiscal year, 835 companies employed more than 3,800 children illegally, Labor Department investigations revealed.
Driving the news: Three separate franchisees that oversee more than 60 McDonald’s locations across Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio, employed 305 children “to work more than the legally permitted hours and perform tasks prohibited by law for young workers,” the department said Tuesday.
- The investigations into Bauer Food LLC, Archways Richwood LLC and Bell Restaurant Group I LLC are part of an ongoing effort to stop child labor abuses in the southeast region, per the department.
- The two 10-year-olds employed by Bauer Food LLC were below the minimum age for employment.
- They prepared and distributed food orders, cleaned the store, worked at a drive-thru window and operated a register, the Labor Department said. One of the kids was also allowed to operate a deep fryer, which is prohibited for workers under 16, the investigations found.
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