10 year olds don’t talk back and tend to accept candy instead of a salary.

The agency also found three franchisees that own more than 60 McDonald’s locations in 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." @CNN https://t.co/5fQCZ47XLC

— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) May 3, 2023

CNN:  Two 10-year-old children were found working at a Louisville McDonald’s restaurant — sometimes until 2 a.m. — the US Department of Labor said Tuesday.

The revelation was part of an investigation into the child labor law violations in the Southeast. The agency also found three franchisees that own more than 60 McDonald’s locations in 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 Labor Department said in a statement.

The franchisees, Bauer Food, Archways Richwood, and Bell Restaurant Group, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. CNN has also reached out to McDonald’s for comment.

“Investigators from the department’s Wage and Hour Division found two 10-year-old workers at a Louisville McDonald’s restaurant among many violations of federal labor laws committed by three Kentucky McDonald’s franchise operators,” the release said. “Investigators also determined two 10-year-old children were employed – but not paid – and sometimes worked as late as 2 a.m.”

The three franchisees face a combined $212,754 in civil money penalties for the child labor violations, the release said.

“Too often, employers fail to follow the child labor laws that protect young workers,” said Karen Garnett-Civils, the agency’s wage and hour division district director, in a statement. “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.”

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— Franco (@FrancoandMarco) May 3, 2023

Over 100 Billion were served: and a few by kids in the third grade. Nice.

McDonald’s in Kentucky loves kids so much that they let them work there until 2 am. Emptying grease traps, 450-degree deep fryers, and red-hot grills: no one teaches a child about the dangers of hard work and avoiding grease fires like this Kentucky Mcdonald’s.

Adversity is a great teacher, and ten year olds who work for free are hard to come by. This was a win-win for upwardly mobile pre-teens and the McDonald’s operator until Children’s Aid and the Department of Children’s Services had to wreck it.

My Question: Where were the parents of these kids? And never went to sleep until they were in bed when they were 10. I still need my 17, 19, and 23-year-old sons to check in before bed. Then again, Maybe I’m ridiculous and too judgmental.

DB