Legislators in multiple states are invoking a widespread labor shortage to push bills that would weaken long-standing child labor laws.

Why it matters: Some bills go beyond expanding eligibility or working hours for run-of-the-mill teen jobs. They'd make it easier for kids to fill physically demanding roles at potentially hazardous work sites.

• Protections could be stripped for youth most at risk of being exploited by employers, like migrant children and kids from families facing financial problems.

Driving the news: A new Arkansas law signed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) last week makes it easier for teens as young as 14 to work without obtaining a permit.

Between the lines: The laws and proposals have largely been introduced by Republicans but received support from some Democrats in Ohio and New Jersey.

• Legislators say the bills are largely in response to the current hot jobs market, with employers posting an elevated number of openings but struggling to fill positions.
• One Republican state senator in Ohio said allowing longer hours for teen workers would help understaffed businesses and build "leaders of the future," Axios' Tyler Buchanan reports.

Zoom in: Iowa lawmakers are considering Republican legislation that would allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work in industrial laundry services and freezers at meatpacking plants. It'd also prevent many of them from receiving worker's compensation if they are sickened, injured or killed on the job.

• Democrats and...

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