10 American states considering relaxation of child labor laws!
While the White House is cracking down on child labor violations, state lawmakers in Wisconsin, Ohio, Iowa and some other states are considering the relaxation of child labor laws in a bid to address worker shortages.
The Associated Press reports that the lawmakers are mostly Republicans. However, child welfare advocates are saying the measures represent a coordinated push to peter the hard-won protections for minors.
The director of Child Labor Coalition, which advocates against exploitative labor policies, Reid Maki said, “The consequences are potentially disastrous. You can’t balance a perceived labor shortage on the backs of teen workers.”
Employers in the states are trying to fill up vacant positions caused by retirements, deaths, illnesses, decreases in legal immigration and some other factors.
Wisconsin lawmakers are in support of a proposal to allow 14-year-olds to serve alcohol in bars and restaurants. If passed into law, it would be the lowest such limit nationwide, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
In Ohio, lawmakers thinking of passing a bill that will allow students aged 14 to 15 to work until 9 p.m. during the school year with their parents’ permission. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, children in that age bracket can only work till 7 p.m. during the school year.
In Arkansas, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a law in March getting rid of permits requiring employers to verify a child’s age and their parent’s consent. Other measures to loosen child labor laws have been passed into law in New Jersey, New Hampshire and Iowa.
A children’s rights researcher with Human Rights Watch, Margaret Wurth said of the bills, they are “attempts to undermine safe and important workplace protections and to reduce workers’ power.”
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