LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Federal authorities have fined the owners of 51 McDonald’s restaurants in Kentucky and Indiana — as well as 5 McDonald’s in Ohio and 5 in Maryland — after the U.S. Department of Labor discovered child labor violations, including two 10-year-olds who worked unpaid at the McDonalds at 3340 Taylor Boulevard in south Louisville.
The violations involved a total of 305 children employed among three independent McDonald’s franchisees, two of which are based in Louisville and the other in Walton, Ky. Most of the incidents related to 14- and 15-year-olds working excessive or unallowable hours under federal law.
In the case of the Taylor Boulevard location, the Department of Labor’s Wage & Division said two 10-year-olds were among 24 children under 16 who were employed in violation of federal law. The 10-year-olds worked as late as 2 a.m. and were unpaid, the government said.
“Below the minimum age for employment, they prepared and distributed food orders, cleaned the store, worked at the drive-thru window and operated a register,” the Department of Labor said in a news release dated Tuesday.
The department added that one of two 10-year-olds was allowed to operate a deep fryer, a prohibited task for workers under 16.
The Labor Department declined to say how it became aware of the children working at the Taylor Boulevard restaurant.
But in August 2022, Annette Cardwell and her boyfriend Nate Pitts shot smartphone video in the drive-through at the Taylor Boulevard location after seeing a boy and a girl working to fill their order and posted the video to social media.
"Our angle for what we could see, they were basically putting fries in the bag, and ready to hand us our food," Cardwell told WDRB News. "I was very shocked. I was appalled because when the mother came to the window asking why I want my money back ... you have two kids standing here working and it was almost midnight and it was a school night."
Louisville-based Bauer Food LLC owns the Taylor Boulevard restaurant and 9 others where violations were found. Bauer Food LLC was assessed $39,711 in penalties to address the child labor violations, the Labor Department said.
Bauer food owner-operator Sean Bauer told WDRB News in a statement that his business did not condone the children working.
"The two 10-year-olds allegedly employed were children of a night manager who were visiting their parent at work and were not approved by franchisee organization management to be in that part of the restaurant," Bauer said in the statement. "Any ‘work’ was done at the direction of - and in the presence of - the parent without authorization by franchisee organization management or leadership. We have since taken steps to ensure our policy regarding children visiting a parent/guardian at work is clear to all employees."
The other franchisees, according to the Department of Labor, are:
Archways Richwood LLC, a Walton, Ky.-based operator of 27 McDonald’s locations. Archways allowed 242 children ages 14-15 to work beyond allowable hours, such as earlier or later in the day than the law permits and more than three hours on school days. Archways’ penalties totaled $143,566.
Bell Restaurant Group I LLC, a Louisville-based operator of four McDonald’s and part of Brdancat Management Inc., a larger enterprise that includes Jesse Bell I, Jesse Bell V and Bell Restaurant Group II, which operates an additional 20 locations in Maryland, Indiana and Kentucky. Bell allowed 39 workers aged 14-15 to work outside of and for more hours than permitted. Bell was assessed $29,267 in penalties.
Labor Department investigators also found Bell Restaurant Group “systemically failed to pay workers overtime wages” they were due and recovered $14,730 in back wages and damages for 58 workers.
