Two 10-year-olds found working at a US McDonald's till 2 am without pay in bombshell investigation

A senior employee at McDonald's called the revelations 'unacceptable and deeply troubling'. (Representational)

Two 10-year-old children were found working at a Louisville McDonald's restaurant in the United States, in violation of federal child labour laws, according to a recent, shocking investigation by the US Department of Labour.

The two children were employed – but not paid – and sometimes worked as late as 2 a.m. at the Louisville McDonald's outlet.

The agency also found that three franchisees, who collectively own over 60 McDonald's locations in Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, and Ohio, employed 305 children to work more than legally permitted hours and perform tasks prohibited for young workers.

"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," said Karen Garnett-Civils, the agency's wage and hour division district director. "Too often, employers fail to follow the child labour laws that protect young workers."

Tiffanie Boyd, senior vice president and chief people officer at McDonald's USA, called the reports "unacceptable, deeply troubling, and run afoul of the high expectations we have for the entire McDonald's brand."

She added that McDonald's is committed to ensuring franchisees have the resources they need to foster safe workplaces for all employees and maintain compliance with labour laws.

One of the franchisees, Bauer Foods LLC, confirmed that the two 10-year-olds allegedly employed were the children of a night manager who were visiting their parent at work and were not approved to be in that part of the restaurant. However, two other franchisees, Archways Richwood and Bell Restaurant Group, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

As a result of the violations, the three franchisees face a combined $212,754 in civil money penalties. This is not the first time McDonald's has come under fire for violating labour laws, with similar accusations of wage theft and retaliation against protesting workers in the past.

In 2019, the company settled a $26 million lawsuit in California over allegations of wage theft and denied breaks for employees. In 2015, the National Labor Relations Board accused McDonald’s of violating labour laws by retaliating against workers who participated in protests for higher wages.