Peru McDonald's franchisee faulted for safety violations after employees electrocuted

McDonald's restaurants all over Peru shut down after staffers' deaths

Two teens were working the overnight shift at a McDonald’s in Lima, Peru when they were both electrocuted. McDonald’s operating company in Peru, Arcos Dorados, announced that all branches would close for a two-day mourning period.

Peru's Labor Ministry has found Arcos Dorados, McDonald's Latin American franchisee, guilty of health and safety law violations following the deaths of two teenage employees who were electrocuted, rattling the country and prompting calls for workplace reforms.

The labor watchdog recommended a $254,000 fine following the deaths of Alexandra Porras, 18, and Carlos Campos, 19, for six "very serious" violations, Reuters reported Thursday.

Porras and Campos were electrocuted by a loose cable earlier this month while cleaning the kitchen during an overnight shift at one of the fast-food locations in Lima. Porras was electrocuted from a drink machine, and Campos caught the shock when he went to help her.

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A person walked next to a closed McDonald's restaurant, one of all 29 locations that were closed following the deaths of two teenaged employees in Lima, Peru. REUTERS/Guadalupe Pardo

Their deaths prompted all McDonald's locations in the country to shut down to allow employees to mourn, and the incident has since led to public demonstrations.

Protesters have demanded better work conditions, while critics say the country's economic growth has left workers vulnerable to exploitation.

Labor Minister Sylvia Caceres said a new system requiring several spot inspections of businesses each year will replace the current one where only one is conducted annually.

People protested outside a closed McDonald's restaurant after the deaths of two teenaged employees in Lima, Peru. REUTERS/Guadalupe Pardo - RC200E9Q2V6H

"We have to discourage companies that violate labor standards,'' Caceres said

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Arcos Dorados said last week that its McDonald's in Lima would remain closed until it finished its own investigation. The company operates all of Peru's 29 McDonald's restaurants.

The company did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.