McDonald’s is in the news again, this time for hiring two 10-year-old children to work at a Louisville-based McDonald’s. According to the Department of Labor, over 350 children are employed at locations throughout Kentucky, sometimes working until 2 a.m. An investigation uncovered the violations, which also found that 60 locations across Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio — which are owned by 3 franchisees — had underaged employees working more hours than legally permitted performing tasks prohibited by law for young workers. Child labor laws exist for a reason. Kids should only have to worry about school and being a kid, not working long hours under potentially hazardous working conditions. Under no circumstances should there ever be someone underage working around hot grills, ovens and deep fryers. The 3 franchisees have been fined a total of $212,000 for the violations, and all of the underage employees have been removed from their jobs.
