Rollbacks of child labor laws threaten decades of hard-won protections
In recent years, a disturbing trend has emerged as Republican-led efforts to weaken child labor protections have gained momentum across several states. In 2022 and 2023, Arkansas, Iowa, New Jersey, and New Hampshire have enacted legislation that relaxes restrictions on youth employment, and 26 other states are considering similar measures.
Iowa’s new law, signed by Governor Kim Reynolds in May 2023 – and considered to be particularly radical – allows children as young as 14 to work in meat coolers and industrial laundries, and permits 16-year-olds to serve alcohol in restaurants.
Iowa’s new child labor laws allow 14 and 15-year-olds to work until 9 p.m. on school nights and 11 p.m. in the summer.
In Arkansas, the Youth Hiring Act of 2023 eliminated the requirements for work permits for 14- and 15-year-olds, which removed a crucial safeguard against exploitation. But the risks don’t stop there.
Other states are pushing boundaries even further: Ohio lawmakers are pushing to extend working hours for 14- and 15-year-olds until 9 p.m. during the school year, while Minnesota is considering allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to work on construction sites. Proponents argue that such changes allow young people to develop valuable skills and fill labor shortages.
These radical efforts directly undermine the hard-won protections outlined by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938, which established current federal standards for child labor and has withstood legal challenges for almost nine decades. The FLSA limited the number of hours a minor could work, safeguarded children against hazardous working conditions, and ensured they didn’t have to work during the hours they should be in school.
Critics of the ongoing rollback warn that expanding child labor compromises presents safety risks to working teens, disrupts their education and encourages some to drop out of school.
As state-level protections crumble in some states, tensions with federal regulations are escalating. In Iowa, employers became confused, thinking that they could follow the new weaker state child labor rules. In actuality, stricter federal provisions continued to retain legal-standing and the U.S. Department of Labor has fined some employers for following state law.
At the federal level, Representative Dusty Johnson (R-SD), introduced a bill in 2022 that would allow 14- and 15-year-olds nationwide to work until 9 p.m. on school nights and up to 24 hours per week during the school year, signaling that this trend of child labor protection rollbacks may continue and even escalate in the coming years.
The Child Labor Coalition, which NCL founded 35 years ago, fights against the weakening of child labor protections at the state and federal level and has worked with several congressional offices to introduce legislation that increases protections. “We are working to see that hard-won child labor protections are not erased,” said Reid Maki, NCL’s Director of Child Labor Advocacy.
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About the National Consumers League (NCL)
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