Johnathan Walker:On Labor Day, think of the children working graveyard shifts right under our noses

It may seem counterintuitive to suggest that,Johnathan Walker on Labor Day, we devote our attention to a subset of the American population who should not be working, or at least not working in jobs that are entirely inappropriate for them. Children.

According to the Department of Labor, the number of minors involved in documented child labor violations (not including the ones that are never reported) increased a mind-boggling 472% between 2015 and 2023, with teenagers working late night shifts, too many hours and working in hazardous environments.

It's not hard to speculate that, as labor shortages have worsened in this country, employers are turning to those under 18 to fill those gaps.

It's not supposed to be this way. 

Child labor violations are on the rise

Back in the early 20th century industrialization era, children made up a large portion of the labor force in factories and mines. This led to inhumane abuses and demands by groups like the National Consumers League to institute legal protections.

Congress responded by passing the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938, which, among other provisions, limited the number of hours a minor could work, reduced their exposure to unsafe jobs and ensured they didn’t have to work during the hours they should be in school.

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This was a historic achievement for the National Consumers League, now celebrating its 125th anniversary. However, it’s a bitter reality that the organization is once again having to make child labor reforms an urgent priority.

Despite the safeguards of the the Fair Labor Standards Act, recent news reports highlight the alarming rise of child labor violations across the United States, accompanied by a predominantly Republican and industry-led effort to attack state labor laws with the goal of weakening the FLSA.

Over the past three years, 28 states have introduced bills to weaken child labor laws and a dozen states have enacted them, the Economic Policy Institute reported in February.

Instead of protecting kids, lawmakers work to take safety nets away

What is incomprehensible is that, instead of trying to correct a situation that is so obviously wrong, efforts have been made to weaken restrictions on hazardous work for teenagers and to extend the number of hours they can be called upon to work.

Instead of trying to protect children, lawmakers are answering the calls of industry to make it easier for them to be exploited.

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Children fall asleep in school today because they’ve come straight to class from working graveyard shifts. Teachers have contacted authorities when they found chemical burns on students’ limbs. A teenager had to have both legs amputated after an industrial accident while working for a construction company.

In May, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that a Tennessee-based cleaning company has agreed to pay nearly $650,000 in civil penalties after federal investigators found the company employed at least 24 children at two slaughtering and meatpacking facilities.

And just this month, a 16-year-old was electrocuted while working a roofing job.

We implore lawmakers to toughen existing penalties for employers who choose to ignore the law and exploit and endanger children.

On this Labor Day, it is right and necessary to ask our policymakers to renew their commitment to the health, safety and well-being of all our children ‒ and recognize their value as a part of this country’s future instead of as a cheap source of labor.

Sally Greenberg is the CEO of the National Consumers League and chair of The Child Labor Coalition.