Two 10-year-old kids were found working at a Kentucky Mcdonald’s until 2 a.m.

As a result of an ongoing investigation into child labor law violations, the U.S. Department of Labor found that two 10-year-old children were working at a Louisville McDonald’s franchise—sometimes until 2 a.m.

The investigation was focused on child labor law violations in the Southeast, the Department of Labor said in a statement. More than 300 children were found illegally working in over 60 franchises of the famous fast-food restaurant across Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio.

“Investigators from the department’s Wage and Hour Division found two 10-year-old workers at a Louisville McDonald’s restaurant among many violations of federal labor laws committed by three Kentucky McDonald’s franchise operators,” the release said. “Investigators also determined two 10-year-old children were employed – but not paid – and sometimes worked as late as 2 a.m.”

Tiffanie Boyd, senior vice president and chief people officer at McDonald’s USA, tells CNN: “These reports are unacceptable, deeply troubling and run afoul of the high expectations we have for the entire McDonald’s brand. […] We are committed to ensuring our franchisees have the resources they need to foster safe workplaces for all employees and maintain compliance with all labor laws.”

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According to Axios, child labor is on the rise in the U.S. The federal government announced a crackdown earlier this year after tracking a 69% increase in illegally employed kids since 2018. In total, during the last fiscal year, 835 companies employed more than 3,800 children illegally, Labor Department investigations revealed.

The 10-year-olds in question were found to have prepared and distributed food orders, cleaned the store, worked at a drive-thru window and operated a register, the Labor Department said. One of them was also allowed to operate a deep fryer, which is prohibited for workers under 16.

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Franchisee Bauer Foods LLC, who owns the restaurant where the children were found working, claims the kids 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.

“Any ‘work’ was done at the direction of—and in the presence of—the parent without authorization by franchisee organization management or leadership,” the company said.