Two 10-year-old children have been working unpaid shifts in a McDonald’s restaurant in Kentucky until 2am, an investigation has found.
The US Department of Labour (DoL) said the children, who have not been named for legal reasons, prepared and served meals at a Louisville outfit of the fast food chain.
The DoL added that Bauer Food, LLC, a Louisville-based operator of 10 McDonald’s franchise locations across two states, employed the youngsters.
Both children were discovered to have worked the cash register and drive-thru, and sometimes cleaned the floors, with one child even allowed to operate the deep fat fryer.
They were also not paid for their shifts, which would sometimes go on until 2am, the investigation found.
The children also had access to “dangerous equipment”, banned for employees under the age of 16.
Bauer Food franchise owner Sean Bauer told CBS News that the children were visiting their parent, who works at the restaurant as a night manager.
