Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a bill that significantly rolls back protections against child labor on Tuesday. Photograph: Will Newton/AP
By Edwin Rios, The Guardian, March 8, 2023
The governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, on Tuesday signed a bill that significantly rolls back protections against child labor, eliminating state requirements to verify that children are at least 16 before they receive a job.
A spokesperson for Sanders, who before becoming governor was White House press secretary under Donald Trump, told the Washington Post state law had been “burdensome and obsolete”.
The new law weakens official oversight of child labor practices across the state.
The bill’s sponsor, Rebecca Burkes, told KNWA the previous regulation was “one small burden on businesses, and also steps in front of parents’ decision-making process about whether their child under 16 years of age can get a job”.
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