Skip to main content
The creeping legalisation of child labour in the US
Facing a shortage of cheap workers, US business lobbies and conservatives have responded by rolling back child protection laws, some of which have been in place since the 1930s, reports HARM VENHUIZEN

LAWMAKERS in several states are embracing legislation to let children work in more hazardous occupations, for more hours on school nights, and in expanded roles, including serving alcohol in bars and restaurants at ages as young as 14.

The efforts to significantly roll back labour rules are largely led by Republican lawmakers to address worker shortages and, in some cases, run afoul of federal regulations.

Child welfare advocates say the measures represent a co-ordinated push to scale back hard-won protections for minors.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
FLAG OF CONVENIENCE: Container ship Nord Independence under the flag of Panama / Pic: Saberwyn/CC
TUC 2025 / 9 September 2025
9 September 2025

MARTYN GRAY asks TUC congress to endorse measures that would help stop the present exploitation of seafarers

WORKERS ON THE MARCH: Calling for a new deal for working people in 2022
TUC Congress 2025 / 8 September 2025
8 September 2025

Labour must not allow unelected members of the upper house to erode a single provision of the Employment Rights Bill, argues ANDY MCDONALD MP

NHS workers on the picket line outside St Thomas' Hospital, London, ahead of a march from the hospital to Trafalgar Square, May 1, 2023
Features / 19 July 2025
19 July 2025

The Bill addresses some exploitation but leaves trade unions heavily regulated, most workers without collective bargaining coverage, and fails to tackle the balance of power that enables constant mutation of bad practice, write KEITH EWING and LORD JOHN HENDY KC

President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Blue Room of the White House, July 7, 2025, in Washington
Features / 9 July 2025
9 July 2025

Trump’s cruel Bill will deprive millions of essential medical support while escalating deportations and rewarding the super-rich, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER