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McDonald’s Asks 14-Year-Olds To Apply Amid Hiring Shortage

HOUSTON, TEXAS - JULY 28: A McDonald's store is shown on July 28, 2021 in Houston, Texas. McDonald's corporation has said that its sales are surpassing pre-pandemic levels across the world as more of its dining rooms reopen after being shutdown during the pandemic. The company has also said that menu-price increases, larger to-go orders and its new crispy chicken sandwiches have largely contributed to boosted sales across the U.S. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Kevin Harness Contributor
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McDonald’s has dropped the company’s required age for employment to 14 years in efforts to get more people on staff.

Amid the labor shortage following the coronavirus pandemic, an Oregon McDonald’s opted to expand the workforce by hiring people as young as 14 as of Wednesday, according to a report from USA Today. (RELATED: American Hero Gets A Job At This Famous Burger Joint To Keep It In Business Amid Staffing Shortage)

Many fast food establishments like McDonald’s are dependent on younger employees, mainly those who were 16 years old or older. This seems to be trending downward due to pandemic-associated labor shortages. Another McDonald’s restaurant from Medford lowered the age for employees to 14 for that reason, the establishment’s manager Ashley Fincher confirmed to USA Today.

The restaurant’s operator Heather Coleman claimed they have not faced issues like this in the past 40 years that her family has owned McDonald’s franchises, according to a report from Business Insider. Once they lowered the age, she told the outlet they got as many as 25 applicants within two weeks.

Coleman said that she tried everything she could to get more people on staff. Restaurants all over the country are closing everything but drive-thrus because of their decrease in staff, Business Insider reported.

Earlier this year, a Burger King in Ohio also announced lowering the employment age to 14.