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McDonald’s franchisee in Pennsylvania has been accused of violating the child labor laws in the United States. The U.S. Department of Labor said that Endor, Inc., the chain’s franchise partner in Western Pennsylvania, has been fined after an investigation revealed that five of its stores in the greater Pittsburgh area hired 34 children who worked longer hours than permitted.
According to National Restaurant News, the kids, who were only 14 and 15 years old, were tasked to work at McDonald’s at later hours. Their work schedules are also longer than what is allowed under the country’s child labor laws.
Child Labor Laws in the US
Paul and Meghan Sweeney own Endor Inc. and reportedly paid $26,894 to the labor department to settle the violations of the McDonald’s franchise’s Fair Labor Standards Act. In any case, as indicated in the bill, children are prohibited from working before 7 a.m. and after 7 p.m.
Moreover, they must not work during school hours and not later than 9 p.m. The rule also states that during school days, they can only work for a maximum of three hours and not over 18 hours during a regular school week. On non-school days, the allowed work hours for children is eight hours tops.
“Fast food restaurants offer young workers an opportunity to gain valuable work experience, but federal law makes sure their experiences do not come at the expense of their education or well-being,” John DuMont, wage and hour division district director in Pittsburgh, said in a statement. “The Fair Labor Standards Act allows for developmental experiences but restricts the work hours of 14- and 15-year-olds and provides for penalties when employers do not follow the law.”
Critics Call Out Officials for Mild Punishment
Meanwhile, Endor received less than $27,000 fine for juveniles working in McDonald's in Pennsylvania, and critics said this is not enough of a punishment for violators of child labor laws. They pointed out that the penalty amount was only 0.0002% of the chain’s profits last year.
Common Dreams reported that Joshua P. Hill, a writer, mentioned that the $26,000 fine is equivalent to less than $1,000 per child who was affected by the McDonald’s franchisees’ employment malpractices. He said this is a very mild punishment considering the brand is a $200 billion fast-food that is also one of the largest names in the world.
A $26k fine for violating child labor laws is 0.0002% of @McDonalds' gross profit LAST YEAR.
— AFL-CIO ✊ (@AFLCIO) November 28, 2023
Two ten-thousandths of a single percent—yes, we triple-checked.
Another reminder that any lawmaker who votes to roll back child labor laws is a disgrace. https://t.co/19p7hGxbQ9
Photo by: Visual Karsa/Unsplash
