The Labor Department said in a press release that the investigation was part of efforts to end child labor abuses.
Officials discovered that a McDonald’s store in Kentucky was operating children on deep fryers, a task for which workers must be at least 16 years old.
The ministry said children under the minimum working age prepared and delivered food orders, cleaned the store, worked in the drive-thru and managed the registers.
Under Kentucky child labor laws, minors under the age of 14 are not permitted to work.
The management of one of these stores said the children were not employees, but were visiting their parents who worked in the restaurant.
She added that the administration does not approve of the children’s presence and has made it clear to its employees on several occasions that such behavior is against the law.
Under federal child labor rules, there are certain types of jobs that minors can work in.
Children between the ages of 14 and 15 must not work more than three hours on a school day and eight hours on non-school days.
The Department of Labor said they also could not work more than 6 p.m. during the school week and could not work before 7 a.m. and after 7 p.m.
Tiffany Boyd, Chief People Officer of McDonald’s USA, called the incidents “unacceptable”, “extremely concerning” and inconsistent with the company’s “high expectations” for its brand.
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