Iowa governor will sign bill rolling back labor protections for children
The measure is the latest in a raft of legislation in several states that aims to loosen restrictions on youth employment
The legislation eliminates state regulations on the number of hours 16- and 17-year-olds can work and allows them to serve alcohol in restaurants with parental permission.
It also bars workers younger than 18 from working in “establishments where nude or topless dancing is performed.”
The bill lifts “unnecessary restrictions” on minors who wish to work and creates new opportunities for young people “to work to get ahead in life or save money for college,” Reynolds (R) said in a statement to The Washington Post.
A law passed in Arkansas in March eliminated work permits and age verification requirements for workers younger than 16, and similar legislation is advancing in Missouri. Other child labor proposals have been introduced in Minnesota, Ohio and Georgia. Wisconsin legislators on Monday introduced a bill to allow children as young as 14 to serve alcohol in restaurants.
COMMENT: In spite of the sugar coating this is an abandonment of humane and caring civic and basic governmental responsibility. Children need secure home lives to grow and study; access to shelter, food, basic income, health care and family security. They should not be made into cheaper labor inputs for corporate profit. This is despicable.
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