Weâd like to believe that the US places the safety and well-being of children at the top of its priority list. But time and time again, evidence seems to point to the complete opposite. In the late 1800s and the early 1900s, it was common for children to have jobs. Enslaved children worked alongside their parents in grueling, inhumane conditions, and during the Industrial Revolution, children joined adults in factories and tenement houses.
As you might imagine, none of this was safe or ethical. And in 1913, a law prohibited the employment of children under the age of 14. But that doesnât mean that, more than 100 years later, some instances of child labor don't slip through the cracks. One such story came to light recently, when authorities learned that two 10-year-old children had been working at a McDonald's restaurant in Kentucky.
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The two children reportedly performed all the tasks of a full-time employee.
Recently, a McDonaldâs franchise in Kentucky has come under fire for employing two 10-year-old children, Insider reported. The children were unpaid laborers who sometimes worked until 2 a.m., the US Department of Labor reported. The two children would prepare and distribute food orders, clean the restaurant, work the drive-thru window, and operate the register. They had been employed by Bauer Food LLC, a Louisville-based operator of 10 McDonaldâs restaurants.
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All the work was done in the presence of their parent.
The two children were even working the deep fryer, a task thatâs prohibited for employees under the age of 16. Any work the children performed was in the presence of their parent.
Bauer told Insider that the two children were visiting their parent, who was a night manager at one of its restaurants. Reportedly, neither the food corporation nor franchise leadership approved the minors to be a part of the restaurant team.
Bauer Food LLC says all employees are now clear on rules involving kids visiting their parents at work.
Bauer Food told Insider that it has made sure all employees now clearly understand the companyâs policy regarding children visiting their parents at work.
"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," Karen Garnett-Civils, the wage and hour division district director in Louisville, Kentucky, noted in the Labor Department's statement.
This isn't Bauer Food's only violation of child labor laws.
The problem evidently extends beyond just these two children. The Labor Departmentâs investigation found that Bauer Food allowed 22 teens under age 16 to work more than the legally permitted hours. Under federal labor laws, 14- and 15-year-olds can work up to 40 hours on a non-school week and 18 hours during a school week.
As a result, Bauer Food was fined $39,711 the department said. Two other McDonaldâs operators in the region were also fined for allowing teens to work more than the legally permitted hours.
Increasingly, politicians at the state level are trying to roll back child labor laws.
"These reports are unacceptable, deeply troubling and run afoul of the high expectations we have for the entire McDonald's brand," Tiffanie Boyd, senior vice president and chief people officer at McDonald's USA, told Insider in a statement. "It is not lost on us the significant responsibility we carry to ensure a positive and safe experience for everyone under the Arches." But McDonaldâs is not the only place where child labor laws are being broken. The Labor Department has seen an increase in federal violations, Garnett-Civils said.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, in the past two years, many state politicians have suggested that child labor protections be rolled back and, "weaken state-level child labor standards," with the goal of "diluting" federal standards.
Many believe such attempts are a slippery slope and will only lead to more dangerous situations for children.
"One child injured at work is one too many. Child labor laws exist to ensure that when young people work, the job does not jeopardize their health, well-being or education," wrote Garnett-Civils.
