Iowa lawmakers are considering reducing fines companies pay for breaking child labor laws. The state has said it's trying to find safe and creative ways to add more people to the workforce.
The proposal to rewrite Section 32 of the state's child labor laws would reduce fines for companies that violate them from $10,000 per instance to $2,500.
Iowa AFL-CIO President Charlie Wishman said Iowa has the infamous distinction of leading the nation in rolling back labor laws designed to protect minors.
"You've seen a lot of child labor law reform all across the country and it doesn't really seem to necessarily be based in partisanship," said Wishman. "You can see a place like Alabama that's strengthening it. You can see a place like Iowa that's loosening it."
The state has said it's looking at creative ways to add more people to the workforce, with shortages especially critical in rural areas.
Wishman said he worries reducing the fines would create even greater safety risks for minors in those places. The proposal is in the Legislature's joint Administrative Rules Review Committee.
Iowa is one of the only states that reports losing population, and with that out-migration goes a much-needed employee base.
As a labor advocate, Wishman said he isn't opposed to giving kids a chance to earn money and learn responsibility by working.
"But that doesn't mean that has to come at the expense of their schoolwork, their extracurricular activities or other things like that, or other...
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