据哥伦比亚广播公司新闻网5月3日报道，美国劳工部一项调查发现，美国3家麦当劳特许经营商非法雇佣300余名童工，其中包括两名10岁儿童。该调查显示，这3家麦当劳特许经营商在肯塔基、印第安纳、马里兰和俄亥俄等州经营62处麦当劳餐厅，合计雇佣305名童工，从事法律不允许该年龄段工人进行的操作。

近年来，美国童工问题愈演愈烈，劳工部数据显示，自2018年以来，非法雇用童工的情况增加了69%。而美国多州却在推动放宽童工雇用限制，将未成年人置于危险的境地。

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A McDonald"s franchisee in Kentucky employed two 10-year-old children in violation of federal labor laws, the Department of Labor said Tuesday. Bauer Food, LLC, a Louisville-based operator of 10 McDonald"s franchise locations across two states, employed the children, the DOL said in a news release.美国劳工部5月1日表示，肯塔基州麦当劳特许经营商鲍尔食品有限公司雇佣了两名10岁儿童，违反联邦劳动法。鲍尔食品有限公司是一家位于路易斯维尔的运营商，在两个州经营10家麦当劳特许经营店。

Officials said the children were not paid, yet sometimes worked as late as 2 a.m. and they "prepared and distributed food orders, cleaned the store, worked at the drive-thru window and operated a register." Investigators learned that "one of the two children was allowed to operate a deep fryer, a prohibited task for workers under 16 years old."劳工部官员称，这些童工没有工资，但有时工作到凌晨2点，他们"准备和分发食品订单，打扫商店，在自选窗口工作并操作收银机"。调查人员了解到，"两名10岁儿童中一人被允许操作油炸机，这是一项禁止16岁以下工人从事的工作"。

The employment of the 10-year-old children wasn"t the only violation DOL investigators found. The Wages and Hour Division of DOL found Bauer Food, LLC employed 24 minors under the age of 16 to work more than legally permitted hours. The DOL assessed nearly $40,000 in penalties.调查人员发现，鲍尔食品不止存在一项违规行为。劳工部工资和工时司称，该公司雇用了24名16岁以下的未成年人，工作时间超过了法律允许的时间。劳工部对其处以近40000美元的罚款。

In addition to Bauer Food, LLC, the Wages and Hour Division also investigated Archways Richwood LLC and Bell Restaurant Group I LLC. The three franchisees operate 62 McDonald"s locations across Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio.除鲍尔食品公司外，工资和工时司还调查了Archways Richwood和贝尔餐厅集团。这三家特许经营商在肯塔基州、印第安纳州、马里兰州和俄亥俄州经营62家麦当劳分店。

The three franchisees employed 305 children to work more than the legally permitted hours, investigators found. The workers also performed tasks prohibited for minor employees.调查人员发现，三家特许经营商雇用了305名儿童，工作时间超过了法律允许的时间。这些童工还从事未成年雇员禁止从事的工作。

Another franchisee of the McDonald"s corporation broke U.S. labor laws by allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to work outside of legal hours at 13 restaurants, the DOL said in December. The department found similar violations at Burger King, Subway and Popeyes earlier in 2022.劳工部去年12月称，麦当劳另一家特许经营商违反了美国劳动法，允许14岁和15岁的儿童在法定工作时间之外在13家餐厅工作。该部门在2022年早些时候在汉堡王、赛百味和大力水手炸鸡发现了类似违法行为。

The DOL has seen a 69 percent increase in children being employed illegally by companies since 2018, the agency said in late February. Officials did not offer an explanation for the surge in unlawful employment. The DOL issued $4,386,205 in child labor civil money penalties for 2022, according to agency data.劳工部今年2月底表示，自2018年以来，美国非法雇用童工的情况增加了69%。政府官员未对非法雇佣激增现象作出解释。根据该部门数据，劳工部在2022年作出了4386205美元的童工民事赔偿金处罚。

另据劳工部统计，在2022财年发现688名儿童被非法雇佣从事危险工作，为2011财年以来的最高数字。

近年来，美国童工问题愈演愈烈，多个州正在推动放宽童工雇用限制，将未成年人置于危险的境地。据《纽约时报》报道，美国多州立法机构正在推动施行相关法案，以延长未成年人的工作时间，取消对危险职业的限制等。

In Arkansas, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a law in March to make it easier for children under 16 to get hired. In Iowa, lawmakers in the state Senate in April passed legislation that would permit 14- and 15-year-olds to work in freezers and meat coolers.今年3月，阿肯色州州长桑德斯签署法案，放宽了16岁以下儿童的雇佣条件。艾奥瓦州参议院立法者于4月通过了一项立法，允许14岁和15岁的儿童在冷冻柜和肉类冷藏室内工作。

编辑：董静，李蕙帆（实习）

来源：中国日报网