McDonald’s has been hit with fines of over $200,000 by the US Department of Labor after it was discovered that three of its franchises in Kentucky employed minors illegally. This included a 10-year-old who was working without pay and operating a deep fryer, a role restricted to employees over the age of 16. The minors were also tasked with cleaning stores, manning the drive-thru windows, operating a register, and preparing and distributing food orders. The franchises, owned by Bauer Food LLC, were fined $39,711 in total.
The Department of Labor also found that another Kentucky-based company, which operates 27 locations in and around Walton, employed 242 minors aged between 14 and 15, who were “allowed to work beyond the allowable hours”. The company was fined $143,566. A third company, Bell Restaurant Group, a Louisville-based subsidiary of a group that owns and operates nearly two dozen locations throughout Maryland, Indiana, and Kentucky, was found to have employed 39 workers between the ages of 14 and 15 beyond the legal allotment of hours. The company was fined $29,267 in civil penalties and $14,730 in back wages that were owed to workers who clocked overtime.
These incidents are not isolated cases. In December 2021, the Department of Labor accused McDonald’s franchise owners in Pennsylvania of employing 14- and 15-year-olds to work longer hours than legally permitted and allowing them to illegally operate heavy machinery and equipment. The franchise owners were fined $57,332. In September 2021, the operators of a McDonald’s location in Oregon solicited job applications from 14- and 15-year-olds to help alleviate a worker shortage, a move which drew criticism from some who questioned whether it was appropriate to ask minors to work.
Tiffanie Boyd, Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer of McDonald’s USA, called the Kentucky incidents “deeply troubling” and said they “run afoul of the high expectations we have for the entire McDonald’s brand”. She added that the company was “committed to ensuring our franchisees have the resources they need to foster safe workplaces for all employees and maintain compliance with all labor laws.”
McDonald’s has around 14,000 restaurants across the US, with franchisees paying the company a fee for the right to operate an officially licensed restaurant. McDonald’s profit is largely driven by the rent and royalty income it receives from franchisees. However, it is clear that the company must take greater steps to ensure that its franchises are adhering to labor laws and that the rights of its employees, particularly those who are minors, are protected.
i bet the young ppl in China wish they could sue Working to make niki shoe as cheap as they do and have to be behind there machine as long as they do for little pay But this sounds more lie some one didnt have a baby sitter at home and took the kid with them to keep a eye one them