States loosen youth employment laws amid rise in child labor violations | National

As labor shortages continue in several industries, a number of states are trying a controversial new strategy: making it easier for teenagers to find jobs. In the past two years, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Arkansas have introduced bills to make it easier for minors to work for pay. But each was written with a different focus and in different contexts. For example, the Minnesota bill aimed to make it easier for construction companies to hire 16- and 17-year-olds. A New Jersey bill allowed minors between the ages of 16 and 18 to work up to 50 hours a week (or 10 hours a day) during summer vacation. In Iowa, the US Department of Labor sent a letter to Iowa lawmakers saying some regulations in the state bill were “contradictory” with federal law, such as allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to work with dangerous tools. Arkansas is one of the few states that has already passed one of these bills: the Youth Employment Act of 2023. It repealed the requirement that children under the age of 16 need permission from the Division of Labor to be employed. “restore the decision-making process” to parents. In a statement to Scripps News, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ office said she believes in protecting children, but added, “This authorization was an arbitrary burden on parents to get government permission for their child to work. All the child labor laws that actually protect children still apply, and we expect businesses to comply as they are required to do now.” A common thread to each of these efforts is the following key question: Do they open are these changes more opportunities for exploitation? Detractors of the bills, such as children’s rights groups, say yes. But some advocates, such as independent business associations, say the fears are overblown; they argue that these reforms can help address labor shortages and provide teenagers with critical work experience. This wave of lifting restrictions comes amid some troubling reports. High-profile investigations have found that industries use illegal child labour, often in unsafe conditions and in breach of a range of labor laws. SEE MORE: Kids as young as 6 help pick America’s blueberries. Earlier this year, a Scripps News investigative team took a detailed look at Packers Sanitation Services Inc., the subject of a recent federal investigation. Federal records obtained by Scripps News describe teenagers who suffered chemical burn injuries, then walked to school and fell asleep in class. One 17-year-old dropped out of high school because they were working and tired of cleaning up.”We started this in January when we found out that underage workers were at a slaughterhouse in Grand Island, Nebraska. So we started there by looking at that case, and then it spread across the country. We spoke to a mother of two in North Carolina. She has two children under the age of ten who helped pick blueberries. And we asked, how can you do that? How can you bring their children to such work?” said Scripps News reporter and editor Patrick Terpstra. “And she said, ‘We’re so desperate to make ends meet that any little thing they can do can help.’ And well, they’re coming with me to the fields. Even though we’re on the sun around these pesticides, at least I can keep an eye on them. And I don’t have to go to daycare. So these families are really going through these tough decisions.” And some of those tough decisions can lead to deadly outcomes . At least three 16-year-olds have died in workplace accidents this summer. According to the Department of Labor, the number of minors working in violation of child labor laws has decreased sharply since 2001. But since 2015, violations have been creeping up. Last year, the US Department of Labor recorded a 37% increase in the number of minors employed in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. “So we found that many of these child labor cases involve undocumented immigrants . . . And it’s not just the children, it’s all of their families. So, in many cases, you have families that come to the U.S. and they come from obviously very desperate situations, trying to make ends meet in this country. And the only way to do that is to put kids to work,” Terpstra said. In most cases, children work longer or later than is allowed. But the Labor Department found nearly 700 children working illegally in hazardous jobs in fiscal year 2022. This is the highest annual rate in about a decade. “How can it be such a secret? And the adults in the room don’t do anything And time and time again we’ve heard that it can do more harm than good. You might break down