Hundreds of children are discovered at McDonald’s in Kentucky as the chain faces federal fines

Two 10-year-old children were found working unpaid shifts at a McDonald’s in Kentucky, sometimes until 2 a.m.

The children, who have not been named, prepared and served meals at McDonald’s in Louisville, worked the drive-thru and register, and cleaned the floor.

One of them was even allowed to work in the fryer, a job considered illegal for anyone under 16 because it involves “dangerous equipment.”

The two children are just some of 305 children under the age of 16 found by U.S. Department of Labor investigators to be working illegally at McDonald’s restaurants in Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio.

It comes as companies across the country are turning to younger workers to deal with labor shortages — with some states passing bills to relax child labor laws.

According to the Department of Labor, 62 McDonald’s restaurants in Kentucky were found to have violated child labor laws

The minimum age to work is 14, but there are limits on working hours for those under 16 and a ban on hazardous jobs for those under 18.

According to the Department of Labor, 62 McDonald’s restaurants were found to have violated child labor laws

They are run by three franchises: Bauer Food LLC, Archways Richmond LLC and Bell Restaurant Group LLC, which had to pay a total of $212,754 in fines.

Officials say Louisville-based Bauer Foods employed 24 workers under the age of 16, including the two 10-year-olds hired in August 2022.

Those kids worked 10 shifts of two to four hours a night, researchers told the Miami announces.

But under U.S. law, the minimum age to work is 14, but there are limits on working hours for those under 16 and a ban on hazardous jobs for anyone under 18.

The franchise was fined $39,711 as a result of these violations.

Meanwhile, Archways Richmond, based in Walton — about 80 miles northeast of Louisville — employed 242 14- and 15-year-olds who worked either too early or too late in the day.

Researchers said the franchise sometimes made teens work more than three hours in a school day.

It was ordered to pay $143,566 in fines as a result.

And Bell Restaurant Group, based in Louisville with additional restaurants in Maryland and Indiana, also had 14- and 15-year-olds working early or late nights, and longer than allowed by law.

Fifty-eight of those teens were not paid overtime pay, federal officials say.

It was ordered to pay $14,730 in back wages and compensation to the workers.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Bauer Foods, Archways Richmond and the president of Bell Restaurant Group for comment.

McDonald’s Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer Tiffanie Boyd issued a statement after DailyMail.com contacted her.

“These reports are unacceptable, deeply troubling and contrary to the high expectations we have for the entire McDonald’s brand. It has not escaped our notice that we have a great responsibility to ensure a positive and safe experience for everyone under the Arches,” the statement read.

“I know how important it is for every restaurant to nurture a culture of safety. As a mom whose teenage son proudly worked at our local McDonald’s, I feel this on a very personal level. We are committed to ensuring that our franchisees have the resources they need to promote safe workplaces for all employees and comply with all labor laws.”

Federal officials say Archways Richmond, based in Walton, employed 242 14- and 15-year-olds

Louisville-based Bauer Foods employed 24 employees under the age of 16, including the two 10-year-olds who were rehired in August 2022. The franchise’s home page is pictured

The report comes just a year after a couple captured two children behind the counter at a McDonald’s in Louisville.

But a spokesperson for the company said that WAS 11 that the minors shown in the video were not actually employees – and were instead the children of several of the employees.

“While we are proud to employ many parents and carers and understand that children sometimes visit a parent’s workplace, minors who are not employees are not allowed to work behind the counter,” the spokesperson said in a statement at the time.

“We have taken steps to ensure that all our employees are reminded of our visitor policy.”

More recently, federal investigators found that a 15-year-old who worked at a McDonald’s in Morristown, Tennessee suffered burns from hot oil when using a deep fryer in June 2022.

The franchisee in that case, Faris Enterprises of TN LLC, was fined a $3,258 civil fine.

In all, in fiscal 2022, the Department of Labor issued a total of $4.3 million in fines for violations of the child labor law when it found 688 minors illegally employed in hazardous conditions — the highest annual number since fiscal year 2011.

At the same time, one New York Times Research showed an increase in the number of unaccompanied minors arriving in the U.S. and joining the workforce, including high school students working in meatpacking and roofing.

“Too often employers fail to comply with child labor laws that protect young workers,” Karen Garnett-Civils, director of the payroll and hours department, said in a statement.

She added that the department is “seeing an increase in federal child labor violations, including allowing minors to operate equipment or perform types of work that put them at risk or require them to employ more hours or later in the day.” than permitted by federal law.

Meanwhile, legislators in at least 11 states have tried over the past two years to relax child labor laws to help employers fill roles.

They argue that relaxing the rules would encourage teens to gain valuable work experience and make it easier for them to supplement family income.

For example, a new law in Arkansas removed the requirement that children under the age of 16 provide parental consent to work, and a law in Tennessee removed a ban on 16- and 17-year-olds from working in restaurants serving more than a quarter of their generate income from alcohol.

A bill in Minnesota would also allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work in construction, and a bill in Iowa would allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work in coolers and meat freezers.