Working in industrial laundries at the age of 14, working up to 35 hours a week on top of school – despite increased incidents of exploitation, several US states are lowering the obstacles to hiring minors. At least five states have altered legislation governing adolescent job regulations, with Arkansas being the most recent to do so in August. According to Labor Department data, the number of illegally employed children has increased by 69 percent since 2018.
Removing the work permit process for young people in Arkansas “might sound like it’s not a big deal, but we actually think it’s a pretty impactful law,” said Reid Maki, coordinator at the Child Labor Coalition. “Eventually this will allow some kids to end up in jobs they really shouldn’t be in,” he told AFP, adding that the work permit requirement “should not have been removed.” A spokesperson for Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders pushed back against that characterization, saying it is “still illegal for minors to work dangerous jobs.” “This bill simply makes it legal for anyone in Arkansas aged 14 and up to work without a permission slip from the government,” added the spokesperson for Sanders, a former White House press secretary for ex-president Donald Trump.
While federal regulations covering child labor protection date back to 1938, states are free to enact their own legislation
Some, however, fear a weakening of regulations, pointing out that the Labor Department has fewer than 800 inspectors overseeing the country’s 11 million workers. According to a survey by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a progressive think group, at least 14 states introduced or approved laws undermining child labor regulations in the last two years. “They do that in a variety of ways, either by extending hours, by expanding the industries in which young workers can work, or allowing them to serve alcohol,” said Nina Mast, coauthor of the report. Five states have gone as far as amending their legislation, the report added: Arkansas, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, and New Jersey.
While federal regulations covering child labor protection date back to 1938, states are free to enact their own legislation, which must be more protective than the national baseline. A bill passed in Iowa in May relaxed limitations on hazardous work and lowered the minimum age for personnel who sell alcohol. This apparently allows “young adults to develop their skills in the workforce,” according to Governor Kim Reynolds in a press statement. However, EPI says it is “one of the most dangerous rollbacks of child labor laws in the country.” In an August letter, Labor Department officials stated that some parts of Iowa’s child labor statute “appear inconsistent” with federal child labor regulations.
This arose after elected Democrats opposed the bill addressed by department officials. Apart from allowing kids to perform specific dangerous tasks, the changes also enable those under 16 to work until 9 p.m. during school days, up from 7 p.m. Federal laws authorize teenagers aged 14 and above to work three hours a day, and up to 18 hours a week during the school term. This is “the right protection,” Maki said. “The current employment situation that we’re in, with a tight labor market, has really exacerbated a push by employers to be able to exploit younger workers,” said Mast, the coauthor of the EPI report.
Businesses are “capitalizing on this current moment to push to erode protections”
Businesses are “capitalizing on this current moment to push to erode protections,” she added. “But that effort is not new,” Maki stressed that protections should not be weakened just to provide workers for the labor market. “The lifelong earnings of a child, of an individual, really depend a lot on whether they go to high school and go to college,” he said.
In the midst of an inflow of often unaccompanied migrant children, President Joe Biden’s administration announced its intention to step up the fight against illicit child labor in February. The Labor Department announced the same month that sanitation firm Packers Sanitation Services had been fined $1.5 million for hiring at least 102 adolescents aged 13 to 17 for dangerous occupations. “This is not a 19th-century problem — this is a today problem,” said then-Labor secretary Marty Walsh.
