10-Year-Olds Found Working at a Louisville McDonald’s Location

The US Department of Labor announced on Tuesday that two 10-year-old children were discovered to be working at a Louisville McDonald’s restaurant location. The agency claimed that the children were working until 2 a.m.

The investigation included three McDonald’s franchises that own a total of 62 locations across Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio. It was concluded that between those locations, 305 children were “working more than legally permitted hours and performing job tasks prohibited by law for their age,” according to the Labor Department.

The three franchises are facing a combined penalty of $212,742.

According to CNN, Franchisee Bauer Foods LLC confirmed that the two 10-year-olds found working were children of a night manager and were not approved by franchisee organization management.

Additionally, the Vice President and Chief People Officer at McDonald’s USA told CNN, “These reports are unacceptable, deeply troubling and run afoul of the high expectations we have for the entire McDonald’s brand. […] We are committed to ensuring our franchisees have the resources they need to foster safe workplaces for all employees and maintain compliance with all labor laws.”