10-year-olds were caught working until 2 am at McDonald's in the US

Front of a McDonald’s branch. (photo: clone)

In the United States, more than 300 children and adolescents, including two 10-year-olds, were found working illegally in restaurants belonging to the McDonald’s fast food chain in four states of the country.

According to the complaint, the children and teens performed various jobs, including operating a deep fryer, an activity prohibited for minors under 16 in the country. They cooked, cleaned the store, and served customers.

Among the minors are two 10-year-olds who work without pay until 2 a.m. at a McDonald’s restaurant in Louisville.

The companies Bauer Food LLC, Archways Richwood LLC, and Bell Restaurant Group LLC, responsible for managing the units where the youths were found, will have to pay a fine of $212,000, which is about R$1 million.

McDonald’s spoke about the incident, describing what happened as “unacceptable” and “extremely disturbing”. The company reaffirmed that it is committed to ensuring the safety of all its employees in the brand’s restaurants.