(NewsNation) – Child labor violations are on the rise, and over two dozen states have taken actions that are exacerbating the problem, according to a recent report from Governing for impactsay the Economic Policy Institute and the Child Labor Coalition.
“Many people assume that Children work long hours in dangerous jobs is a thing of the distant past in the United States,” the report’s authors said. “Unfortunately they are wrong.”
According to the report, injury rates among workers under 18 nearly doubled between 2011 and 2020.
The Fair Labor Standards Act, Passed by Congress in 1938approved some restrictions on child labor. Still, the report said, there have been “remarkable increases” in recent years in child labor violations, workplace injuries and chronic school absenteeism.
In the 2023 financial year the Ministry of Labor completed 955 investigations and reported that it found a 14% augment in violations compared to the previous year. Nearly 5,800 children worked in ways that did not comply with the law, and the department issued more than $8 million in penalties, an 83% augment from fiscal year 2022.
In their report, organizations detailed the story of a 16-year-old boy who was killed Deep cleaning of a machine part in the cutting area of a chicken processing plant in Mississippi. He failed to provide adequate supervision and precautions, the report said.
Another teenager near Orlando, Florida, died at the construction site of a two-story home in 2019 when he fell 8 feet from a stepladder while holding onto a 24-foot floor beam. The beam fell on the boy’s chest, killing him, the report said.
A number of factors can cause teens to be injured in the workplace, including the profession in which they are employed, the report said. For example, according to the report, agriculture is an industry where risks for child workers are highest and regulations are weakest.
“Instead of addressing the worrying increase in workplace injuries among children, industry-related groups like those behind it are getting involved Project 2025 have actually proposed changing federal regulations to allow more young people to work in more dangerous jobs,” the report says.
“Project 2025” is a nearly 1,000-page handbook from conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation and other organizations that serves as a guide to what they want to do under a Republican presidential administration.
While Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025, dozens of people who worked closely with him during his time in the White House are involved, as Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’ campaign has made clear.
Authors of Project 2025 wrote that some newborn adults “show interest in fundamentally dangerous jobs.”
“The current regulations prohibit many young people from working in such jobs, even if their family runs the company. This creates labor shortages in dangerous fields and often discourages otherwise interested young workers from trying out the more dangerous occupations,” say the authors of Project 2025. “With parental consent and appropriate training, certain young adults should be allowed to work in more dangerous occupations to learn and work.” . This would give the green featherlight to training programs and strengthen the skills of teenagers who may want to work in these fields.”
Along with those in the industry pushing for fewer child labor protections, Legislators in more than 30 states have taken steps to weaken them since 2021, Governing for impactthe Economic Policy Institute and the Child Labor Coalition wrote in their report.
“Citing labor shortages and under pressure from industry groups, these states have taken measures to allow children under 18 – often much younger – to work in hazardous occupations, to limit employer liability for injuries to their child workers, and to provide employers with the opportunity.” to give children scheduling overnight shifts,” the report said.
What can be done to prevent child labor violations?
Since 2021, the Labor Department has “tightened” enforcement of current federal regulations and imposed maximum penalties on employers who committed “some of the worst violations,” the report said. However, “the regulations themselves are outdated and inadequate,” says the report.
“Even consistent enforcement of these regulations isn’t enough to somehow protect children from what’s going on in the economy right now,” said Reed Shaw, policy counsel at Governing for Impact and co-author of the report. said The Guardian.
The report’s authors had some suggestions for changes the department could make. These include expanding the list of jobs considered too risky for workers under 18; increasing protection for child workers in risky agricultural jobs; and adopting regulations prohibiting employers from scheduling certain child workers on night shifts and requiring rest breaks and one day off per week for others.
