McDonald’s Franchisees Fined for Child Labor Violations

Franchisees of 16 McDonald's locations across two states were fined for violating child labor laws, according to the Department of Labor. The violations affected 83 minors.

Since May, McDonald's overall has been accused of violating child labor laws affecting 305 minors, two of which were 10-year olds, according to the Miami Herald.

In the most recent case, the fast food giant's franchisees, located in Louisiana and Texas, had its young employees, ages 14 to 15, work for longer shifts, and later in the day, than permitted. Some teens were allowed to operate a manual deep fryer, which is only allowed to be operated by employees 16 or older. Other young employees were allowed to operate the oven and trash compactor, also roles considered to be dangerous to young people.

The McDonald's franchisees in Louisiana were fined $56,106, and in Texas $21,466.

"An employer's first obligation is to make sure minor-aged children are protected from potential workplace hazards," said Betty Campbell, the wage and hour division regional administration at the Department of Labor.

Tiffanie Boyd, the Chief People Officer of McDonald's USA said in a statement to The Messenger, "these reports do not reflect the high standards we have for every McDonald's restaurant...we take this issue seriously and are committed to ensuring our franchisees have the resources they need to maintain compliance with all U.S. law."

Chris Bardell, a New Orleans franchisee added that "since learning of these violations, I've introduced mandatory child labor law trainings for my restaurant managers and conducted regular audits to ensure we're in compliance with labor regulations."

This comes after three other McDonald's franchisees were fined $212,000 in May, over similar allegations. The investigation found that this occurred across across 62 locations and affected 305 young works.

Last year, a 15-year old McDonald's employee was burned while using a deep fryer. The franchise was fined $3,258 for child labor violations. Minors are not allowed to use deep fryers without specific safety provisions including lowering the basket.

Earlier in July, more than 100 current and former employees of the fast-food giant in the United Kingdom reported to the BBC that they were sexually assaulted or abused during their time at the company. Three quarters of those who reported sexual misconduct were young, ages 16 to 25. In April 2020, 5,000 U.S. employees were involved in a $500 million class action suit which accused the company of "systemic sexual harassment."