The United States is regressing. Gun legislation continues to be lax, several states have banned abortion and now even child labour laws are being relaxed. In the midwestern state of Iowa, children will be allowed to work longer hours and take up jobs that were earlier prohibited like serving alcohol and assembly line work. What has changed? The Iowa Senate, controlled by Republicans, passed a new bill before dawn on Tuesday to fight labour shortages.
It’s the biggest push to roll back laws protecting children from labour in the United States since the 1930s, according to reports in the media.
Nights shifts and permission to serve alcohol
The Iowa senate pulled an all-nighter and passed changes to the state’s child labour laws to allow 14 to 17-year-olds to work longer hours and in restricted fields with parental permission.
The controversial bill permits children as young as 14 to work six-hour night shifts, 15-year-olds to work in plants on assembly lines and move items of up to 22 kilos, and 16-year-olds to serve alcohol even though they can’t legally drink themselves. Minors can work until 9 pm during the school year and until 11 pm during the summer, two hours later than the current...
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