How states can fight child labor

Child Labor in the United States: A Call for Action

Since the recent re-emergence of U.S. child labor came to light, the stories have been unrelenting:

• Children working as roofers
• Children working in factories making car parts
• Children working in food processing plants

The latest case involved two dozen children as young as 13 and 14 working overnight shifts in slaughterhouses in Virginia and Iowa, with duties that included cleaning “kill floor equipment” like head splitters and meat band saws.

The Importance of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The causes of resurgent child labor are complex: The worst cases often involve migrant children, sometimes unaccompanied, fleeing countries with violence and poverty. How can this problem be remedied without solving major geopolitical challenges that have existed for decades?

Viewed another way, though, it’s quite simple: If employers didn’t hire children for dangerous and prohibited work, we wouldn’t have a child labor problem. So how do we get employers to stop?

This challenge is not like boiling the ocean or colonizing Jupiter. It’s achievable, but only if we increase both the likelihood that violators will be caught and the consequences when that happens. Our current system fails on both fronts.

1. Federal and state labor departments are underfunded, decreasing the likelihood violators will be detected.
2. As for the consequences of being caught, federal child labor penalties top off just over $15,000 per violation, while state penalties are typically a fraction of that, sometimes pitifully low. In South Carolina, first-time violators can get away with a written warning.

Clearly, penalties should be increased to deter violations and convey the gravity of what’s at stake. But this is a five-alarm fire; penalties alone won’t do the trick. And the federal government alone is unlikely to be the answer. After Senate hearings last year on the subject, several bipartisan bills were proposed, but the House is likely to be more of a challenge.

Possible Solutions

Just as states led the way in passing the original child labor laws over a century ago, they have a crucial role to play today. Fortunately, a host of precedents in existing laws can be deployed to halt the distressing trend. A recent report that I authored, issued by the Economic Policy Institute and NYU Wagner Labor Initiative, highlights a range of options.

• Child labor enforcement agencies could be granted authority to issue “stop work orders” requiring cessation of operations at worksites where there is an active, ongoing child labor violation.
• Lawmakers could create a private right of action, with damages for violations, thereby enabling child labor victims to file a lawsuit against their employer.
• States could amend their workers’ compensation laws to allow personal injury lawsuits when children are injured or killed on the job amid child labor violations.
• Government can exercise the power of the purse, by preventing corporations with widespread or unremedied child labor violations from receiving government contracts.

Of course, along with the above measures, most of which are revenue-neutral or low-cost, government must also do something it hasn’t done for a long time: adequately fund labor enforcement agencies. Child labor investigations are complex and require significant resources.

It should go without saying, but the exact wrong approach is to roll back child labor laws, as some conservative states are unbelievably seeking to do. In addition to fighting these rollbacks, advocates can press for measures to deter violations and enforce the remaining child labor protections.

No silver bullet can immediately stop the exploitation of children at work. But the moment calls for bold creativity and political will. An arsenal of policies—not fantastical, pie

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• SDG 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor.
• SDG 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against and torture of children.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Indicator for SDG 8.7: Number of children involved in child labor.
• Indicator for SDG 16.2: Number of cases of child labor exploitation and violations of child labor laws.

4. Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

The article addresses the issues of child labor and the need to take measures to eradicate it. These issues are connected to SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions). The specific targets identified are Target 8.7, which focuses on eradicating forced labor and the worst forms of child labor, and Target 16.2, which aims to end abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and violence against children. The indicators mentioned in the article that can be used to measure progress towards these targets are the number of children involved in child labor and the number of cases of child labor exploitation and violations of child labor laws.

Behold! This splendid article springs forth from the wellspring of knowledge, shaped by a wondrous proprietary AI technology that delved into a vast ocean of data, illuminating the path towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Remember that all rights are reserved by SDG Investors LLC, empowering us to champion progress together.

Source: route-fifty.com

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