High school freshman girls should not double as cocktail waitresses at night.
That’s not a sentence I thought needed to be said, but here we are in 2023, and there are conservative lawmakers in Wisconsin and elsewhere who believe it’s a good idea for 14-year-olds to serve alcohol. As more than 10 states have made efforts to roll back child labor laws, that’s just one of the disturbing occupations floated as appropriate work for children.
Iowa enacted a law last week allowing more kids to work more dangerous jobs. In Arkansas, a 14-year-old would no longer need to show an employer proof of parental approval. In Ohio, a 14-year-old can work until 9 p.m. during the school year.
March 27, 2023
Now the arguments against this movement are painfully obvious, but the so-called case for child labor requires unpacking.
Part of the rationale for relaxing the laws grows out of the worker shortage that employers have been experiencing for a few years now. But conservatives have been targeting child labor laws for decades. In fact, President Reagan not only pushed to expand the hours and types of work for children as young as 14, but also wanted to let employers pay teens less than minimum wage as a way to address teen joblessness in the “inner city.”
In hindsight that sounds pretty racist. I’m sure it sounded racist then too.
Which brings me to the other aspect of this child labor...
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