BonesOfTheMoon10-year-olds found working at McDonald's until 2 am.
I feel like important context is that they were kids of the manager. That changes this from a bad corporate governance and exploitation of labor situation to something else: a bad parenting/child abuse, bad corporate governance and exploitation of labor situation.
There’s potentially a much more bleak explanation that could be the case since this reminded me of a moment in my childhood.
McDonald’s management doesn’t sound lucrative enough of a gig for childcare on top of the cost of survival with 2 kids, this could simply be a way for them to watch their kid and continue earning a living. I spent a few days “helping” at a grocery store for that reason when I was 8 or 9ish, though during the day and not at 2am, and my mom got in trouble for doing that too I think, because then I just stayed home alone for the summer after that.
Doesn’t make it much better, it would just turn it into bad parent/child abuse, because of exploitation of the labor class.
FTA:
Bauer Food LLC said in a statement that the two 10-year-olds are children of a night manager and “were not approved by franchisee organization management to be in that part of the restaurant.”
So at very least, they’re in the back of the restaurant, where they shouldn’t be. However, given fact that the company isn’t disputing the two 10-year-olds were working, I think that pretty much means they were working.