Ever miss being a kid? That innocent time spent running through sprinklers and learning new things? Well, believe it or not, the Iowa legislature is trying to make it legal for 14 year olds to do the infamously dangerous work of meat packing. 10 states have recently introduced, considered or passed legislation relaxing laws restricting child labor, including lowering the minimum age, extending work hours, lifting restrictions on hazardous work and eliminating age verification or parent/guardian permission requirements.
It’s horrifying to think that child labor, which used to be a screwed up remnant of a long forgotten past, is becoming increasingly common. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the number of miners employed in violation of labor laws has risen by 37% in the last year, marking a 283% increase since 2015. The number of minors illegally employed in hazardous occupations has also increased by 94% since 2015. It’s worth noting that our society’s view of childhood has changed drastically since the Industrial Revolution. Back then, children were often employed in textiles, mining, agriculture, canneries, and other factories. It wasn’t until the 1930s that meaningful change was made, and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 became the primary federal law regulating child labor.
Despite the progress that has been made, it is still concerning that our laws regarding child labor have not been updated since 1938. Reformers initially sought to regulate child labor at the state level, but soon realized that federal legislation was needed to make meaningful change.
It is concerning that at a time when so much political discourse is focused on protecting children, we still have children spending their youth working the night shift in factories. What does it say about our society when we have children working in this way? It is time to take a closer look at our laws and make sure that we are protecting children from physical labor that is potentially as dangerous as a book about gay penguins. The U.S. Department of Labor recommends policy changes such as raising the minimum wage and eliminating sub minimum wages for youth, enforcing wage and hour laws, passing key immigration reforms, and supporting workers’ rights to organize and form unions. These rules are looser for agricultural work, as children as young as 12 can log unlimited hours in many agricultural jobs as long as they have parental consent and schools are not in session. Mackey of the Child Labor Coalition argues that this two-tier system is harmful, as it does not restrict the hours and kinds of work allowed for those under 16 and prohibits anyone under 18 from performing hazardous occupations.
The Department of Labor has found that Packer Sanitation Services Inc. (PSSI) had over a hundred kids between the ages of 13 and 17 illegally working for them in hazardous jobs at 13 different meat packing facilities. Meanwhile, several Hyundai Kia factories in Alabama are under investigation for employing Guatemalan migrant children as young as 14 as low-wage assembly line workers.
The Epi calls the decline in youth labor force participation over the past 20 years a positive trend for both individuals and the economy, as young people are choosing to delay going to work in favor of finishing high school. However, child labor is very much a class issue and the kids that lawmakers are targeting are not those with the privilege to make the choice to put off entering the workforce. rous and exploitative labor
It seems that though there’s plenty of political will to protect children from certain activities, the same does not apply to protecting them from dangerous and exploitative labor. In 2023, a law was passed that eliminated the authority of the Labor Commissioner to require work permits for minors in certain occupations and removed rules that forbid parents from making false statements in order to get their kid employed. Furthermore, it removed liability for the injury, illness, or death of a child laboring in a work-based learning program.
Child influencers are currently not protected by traditional child labor laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 or state-based child actor laws, leaving them vulnerable to financial, physical, and psychological exploitation. A study in 2001 found that working too many hours hurts teen’s health and development, while a 2019 study demonstrated that minors are more vulnerable to long-term harm from workplace hazards like chemical exposures.
Given the very real harms associated with child labor, it is baffling that so many lawmakers are going on the record for kids to be doing more and truly dangerous work.