Child Labor
- Basics
Child labor laws set the minimum age for employment; restrict and regulate (often with a higher minimum age) employment in hazardous occupations; and protect educational opportunity by limiting working hours. Federal child labor laws are enshrined in the Fair Labor Standards Act, which has standards for child laborers in agricultural and non-agricultural jobs. As a general rule, the age and hour standards for agricultural work are laxer (the minimum age for particularly hazardous work, for example, is 16 for agriculture and 18 for all other jobs; for non-hazardous work, it is 14 in agriculture and 16 for all other jobs).
Most states also have child labor laws, which may be more or less protective than the federal standards. Indeed state laws (some of which were enacted long before the FLSA) vary widely and feature an often bewildering array of specific occupational rules or sweeping occupational exemptions. State laws might extend coverage to some place of employment (like small, intrastate concerns) which are not covered by the federal law. Many extend protection to older children (extending a federal rule governing children under 16, for example to 16 and 17 year olds as well). And many combine child labor standards with compulsory school statutes, and require school-issued employment certificates. Where state laws apply to child workers also covered by the FLSA, the more protective of the two (state or federal) applies.
- Current Landscape
A few states have rolled back restrictions on the employment of minors (Maine, for example, recently raised the hours threshold for those under 18 from 20 to 24 hours/week and pushed the school-night work curfew from 10:00 to 10:15). But many more have proposed more drastic de-regualtion. A Missouri State Senator made headlines in Spring 2011 for suggesting that the state remove most state restrictions on the employment of children, and end routine inspections of companies that employ children ("Well, yeah,” responded the comedian Jay Leno, “why should the 10-year-olds in China be getting all the good factory jobs?").
Much of the recent pressure for loosening child labor restrictions is coming from businesses that employ young people (such as the fast-food industry) who claim they need “more freedom” to schedule students on long shifts and late at night. In state capitols, this is often presented as a broader goal of “streamlining” regulation and freeing children and parents from archaic regulatory shackles.
- FAQ
Do we still need child labor laws?
While our worst practices and patterns of child labor are well behind us, these gains were accomplished by public policy—and are sustained by public policy. Today’s child labor laws set important guidelines for hours worked by school-age children, and for the kinds of jobs those children can perform safely.
Don’t child labor laws trespass on parental rights?
No. Child labor standards exist alongside a wide array of state policies (such as school attendance, driver licensing, or age thresholds for the purchase of alcohol and tobacco) which are designed to accomplish broad public goals. Such laws complement and reinforce good parenting.
- Learn More
Because efforts to roll back child labor standards are so recent and surprising, the relevant policy research is thin. The best “watchdog” source for current news and legislative updates is the National Consumers’ League. The National Employment Law Project is the best overall source for workplace standards and enforcement. A good (if now a little dated) overview is William G. Whittaker, Child Labor in America: History, Policy, and Legislative Issues (Congressional Research Service, 2005). Basic background materials can also be culled from the Child Labor Coalition and the University of Iowa’s Child Labor Education Project. Federal (DOL) child labor standards are summarized at the Department of Labor’s Youth Rules site.
Recent Research Highlights
- Basics
Child labor laws set the minimum age for employment; restrict and regulate (often with a higher minimum age) employment in hazardous occupations; and protect educational opportunity by limiting working hours. Federal child labor laws are enshrined in the Fair Labor Standards Act, which has standards for child laborers in agricultural and non-agricultural jobs. As a general rule, the age and hour standards for agricultural work are laxer (the minimum age for particularly hazardous work, for example, is 16 for agriculture and 18 for all other jobs; for non-hazardous work, it is 14 in agriculture and 16 for all other jobs).
Most states also have child labor laws, which may be more or less protective than the federal standards. Indeed state laws (some of which were enacted long before the FLSA) vary widely and feature an often bewildering array of specific occupational rules or sweeping occupational exemptions. State laws might extend coverage to some place of employment (like small, intrastate concerns) which are not covered by the federal law. Many extend protection to older children (extending a federal rule governing children under 16, for example to 16 and 17 year olds as well). And many combine child labor standards with compulsory school statutes, and require school-issued employment certificates. Where state laws apply to child workers also covered by the FLSA, the more protective of the two (state or federal) applies.
- Current Landscape
A few states have rolled back restrictions on the employment of minors (Maine, for example, recently raised the hours threshold for those under 18 from 20 to 24 hours/week and pushed the school-night work curfew from 10:00 to 10:15). But many more have proposed more drastic de-regualtion. A Missouri State Senator made headlines in Spring 2011 for suggesting that the state remove most state restrictions on the employment of children, and end routine inspections of companies that employ children ("Well, yeah,” responded the comedian Jay Leno, “why should the 10-year-olds in China be getting all the good factory jobs?").
Much of the recent pressure for loosening child labor restrictions is coming from businesses that employ young people (such as the fast-food industry) who claim they need “more freedom” to schedule students on long shifts and late at night. In state capitols, this is often presented as a broader goal of “streamlining” regulation and freeing children and parents from archaic regulatory shackles.
- FAQ
Do we still need child labor laws?
While our worst practices and patterns of child labor are well behind us, these gains were accomplished by public policy—and are sustained by public policy. Today’s child labor laws set important guidelines for hours worked by school-age children, and for the kinds of jobs those children can perform safely.
Don’t child labor laws trespass on parental rights?
No. Child labor standards exist alongside a wide array of state policies (such as school attendance, driver licensing, or age thresholds for the purchase of alcohol and tobacco) which are designed to accomplish broad public goals. Such laws complement and reinforce good parenting.
- Learn More
Because efforts to roll back child labor standards are so recent and surprising, the relevant policy research is thin. The best “watchdog” source for current news and legislative updates is the National Consumers’ League. The National Employment Law Project is the best overall source for workplace standards and enforcement. A good (if now a little dated) overview is William G. Whittaker, Child Labor in America: History, Policy, and Legislative Issues (Congressional Research Service, 2005). Basic background materials can also be culled from the Child Labor Coalition and the University of Iowa’s Child Labor Education Project. Federal (DOL) child labor standards are summarized at the Department of Labor’s Youth Rules site.