WASHINGTON — Lawmakers in 11 states have either passed or introduced laws to roll back child labor laws — a push that’s come from industry trade organizations and mostly conservative legislators as businesses scramble for low-wage workers.
In the past two years, those states have moved to extend working hours for children, eliminate work permit requirements and lower the age for teens to handle alcohol or work in hazardous industries. At the same time, there has been a 69% increase in children employed illegally by companies since 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
It is “irresponsible for states to consider loosening child labor protections,” Seema Nanda, the U.S. solicitor of labor, said in a statement to States Newsroom.
“Federal and state entities should be working together to increase accountability and ramp up enforcement — not make it easier to illegally hire children to do what are often dangerous jobs,” she said, adding that the Labor Department will continue to enforce longstanding federal child labor protections.
This year alone, lawmakers in seven states have introduced or passed bills that would ease child labor laws.
“While we’re finding out that child labor is more pervasive and more dangerous than we thought, (these) states have decided, ‘Oh, now’s a good time to weaken the child labor laws,’” said Reid Maki, the director of child labor issues and coordinator at the Child Labor Coalition. “So that’s appalling. That’s really just...
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