Several US states are considering loosening child labor laws, including several which are considering letting children serve alcohol in bars.
The recent wave of child labor legislation began in Arkansas, where Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed into law a bill that removed the requirement for children under the age of 16 to get work permits from the state’s Division of Labor.
‘The Governor believes protecting kids is most important, but this permit was an arbitrary burden on parents to get permission from the government for their child to get a job,’ a spokesperson for the Republican governor said.
But more Republican-lead initiatives in other states have moved to expand the types of work children are allowed to do and allow businesses to employ them for more hours, including on school nights.
In April, the Republican-controlled Iowa legislature passed a bill that would allow children ages 14 and 15 to work in industrial laundromats, meat freezers, and perform ‘light assembly work’ in some factories.
Minors aged 16 and 17 would also be permitted to serve alcohol at restaurants and bars, so long as the establishments are also serving food.
It would also expand the hours children under the age of 16 are allowed to work, from four to six hours per day.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has until June 3 to sign the bill into law. She has previously indicated support for the legislation.
‘Ultimately, parents and kids will decide if they want to work or not,’ Reynolds said. ‘It teaches the kids a lot. And if they have the time to do it and they want to earn some additional money, I don’t think we should discourage that.’
In May, Republicans in Wisconsin followed suit and introduced a law that would allow children as young as 14 serve alcohol to patrons at bars.
State Senator Rob Stafsholt said the bill was intended to ‘create a simple solution’ for bars and restaurants that have struggled to fill shifts since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ohio is also considering a similar proposal. The state currently bars underage students from working past 7.00pm on school nights, but a law introduced in March would remove that cap – even during the school term.
Some Democrats have also joined their Republican colleagues to support the loosening of child labor laws. In July 2022, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill allowing businesses to employ children on summer break for longer hours and give them fewer breaks.
The legislation now allows 16 and 17-year-olds in the state to work 50 hour work weeks before school begins in September. It also increases the work week to 40 hours for 14 and 15-year-olds.
Kids working in New Jersey are also now required to work 6 hours before they get a mandated 30-minute break.
These laws have come under considerable criticism, including from the federal Department of Labor.
Seema Nanda, the department’s solicitor, called Iowa’s law ‘irresponsible.’
According to the Department of Labor, there are currently over 600 active investigations into illegal child labor, including some in Iowa.
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.
from News – Metro https://ift.tt/91sNrMQ
0 Comments