Powerful right-wing and pro-business forces want to turn this country back to a time when children worked in factories. And they are gaining ground:
“The Labor Department has seen a 69 percent increase in minors employed in violation of federal law since 2018, officials reported. Between 2018 and 2022, federal regulators opened cases for 4,144 child labor violations covering 15,462 youth workers, according to federal data,” said the report.
The claim by conservatives is that barring such child trafficking or banning child labor would harm low-income families by limiting their ability to work and earn money. Conservatives explain that the kids are going to work illegally anyway, so why not regulate it to ensure there are safe conditions. The problem with that claim is that Iowa’s new child labor laws built-in protections for businesses, so if a child were injured or killed on the job, the company wouldn’t have any responsibility. That’s not the case in adult jobs.
Child labor abuses is slapped on the wrist by the government. Even by this Democratic administration.
The 99 Percenters 