Child Labor

CHILD LABOR

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA,1938) as modified over the years sets out rules for child labor, including barring child workers from a long list of hazardous jobs and restricting working hours for children under 16. Those under 14 can work in very few jobs under the law.

Now some states with Republican governors and legislators are trying to undo the protections guaranteed by the FLSA. Some of the proposals involve expanding work hours for children, lifting restrictions on hazardous occupations, and lowering the state minimum wage for minors.

What are the factors behind these proposed changes? There is a labor shortage, particularly in the areas of low-skill, low-wage, hazardous labor. (Recently there was case of minors 13-17 employed to clean meatpacking equipment using dangerous chemicals.) There are migrant youths willing and anxious to work. Fines for violation of the federal law are a maximum $15,138 per child, a small cost of doing business for a large company. In addition, the Labor Dept. doesn’t have enough investigators to enforce the law. Then there is lobbying by business groups and the attitude of politicians. Will we allow free-market ideology and the current labor shortage to endanger the welfare of our children and diminish the importance of educating them? 

Source: The New York Times editorial,3/26/23.