Labor law expert Terri Gerstein has one word to describe the current trends in child labor: “bizarre.”
Recent investigations by The New York Times, the Boston Globe and Reuters revealed cases where kids as young as 12 were working in meatpacking plants, fish processing plants, construction and car factories. Coupled with this surge in child labor law violations, Gerstein said, is a movement by certain state legislatures to remove existing protections. In Arkansas, for example, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a bill that rolls back age verification requirements for children under 16. Iowa and Minnesota are also considering bills that loosen child labor age restrictions and workplace safety requirements.
“It’s bizarre they’re happening at the same time because when we see an uptick in child labor, logically, that should be when we actually strengthen our laws and try to think about what we can do to protect children,” Gerstein, a fellow at the Center for Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School and the Economic Policy Institute, said on Boston Public Radio.
“Our child laws basically prevent kids from doing dangerous work and also from working such long hours that it's harmful to their physical development and their ability to go to school,” she said. “When I talk about this upsurge in child labor violations, it includes both types.”
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