Facts on Child Labor Laws

Child labor has always existed in cultures that used slavery as the workforce. However, in the Industrial Era, child labor became more prevalent for youths of all races.
Early child labor laws stated that allowing children to do manual labor in factories would endanger their health and well being. In later years, governments set minimum ages for employment as well as the hours the children were allowed to work.

History

In 1938, the National Child Labor Committee worked to pass the Federal Standards Act, which stated laws and regulations regarding child labor.

Significance

Child labor saws set the minimum age that children can legally be employed. They also protect the children from being endangered while working by designating tasks and occupations that are too dangerous for children to perform.

Function

Child labor laws prevent children under the age of 16 from working more than three hours a day. Each state is also responsible for setting the times of the day and night that eligible children can be employed.

Benefits

Child labor laws are beneficial to the children because they protect them from being abused. The laws also ensure that the work will not interfere with the child's education.

Misconceptions

It is a common misconception to believe that child labor problems do not exist in the United States. More than five million children between the ages of 12 and 17 are employed in the U.S. In agriculture, young children of migrant workers are commonly used to care for livestock or to harvest crops.

Exemptions

Most states in the U.S. allow young children to have the responsibility of having a newspaper delivery route. However, the age of allowance my vary in each state. Children are also exempt from hourly restrictions if they work in a business owned by their parents.