It has been difficult to keep up with the number of Republican attempts in recent years to roll back child labor laws. The Guardian reported in the fall that state-level GOP policymakers “have led efforts to roll back child labor protections, with bills introduced in at least 16 states.”
To be fair, not all measures are identical. In some states, Republicans want to eliminate age verification requirements for employers. In other states they want minors to be able to serve alcohol. A Washington Post report last year noted that some GOP officials were also eyeing proposals to allow children as young as 14 to “work certain jobs in meatpacking plants and protect companies from legal liability if a child worker gets sick.”
Apparently similar efforts are underway again this year, and this NoLa.com report from Louisiana particularly stood out.
With Republicans regaining control of all the levers of power in Louisiana — former Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards resigned earlier this year after two terms in office — Republican Gov. Jeff Landry has tasked officials with “reforming” the state’s business environment.
Some Republican officials are taking that directive quite seriously — to the point of putting forward a plan to eliminate lunch break requirements for child workers.
According to the local report, the proposal is being championed by Republican state Rep. Roger Wilder, who owns a number of smoothie franchises in the region, and who said many of his child employees want to work without lunch breaks.
“The wording is: ‘We are here to harm children.’ Give me a break,” he said. “These are young adults.”
To be clear, the children may be young, but they are minors and not adults.
The reporting comes with some caveats: The bill passed a state legislative committee this week and heads to the Louisiana statehouse, but it has not yet become law. In other words, there is still time before the measure is amended and/or rejected.
But the bigger picture is nevertheless unmistakable: in contemporary politics, Republican administrations, especially at the state level, are increasingly invested in rolling back child labor safeguards.
As for why officials in so many states are “reforming” their child labor laws—an issue that until recently seemed relatively resolved—there is reason to believe the sudden surge is not coincidental.
The Washington Post last year highlighted the role of something called the Foundation for Government Accountability, which is taking the lead in “maneuvering” these changes through state legislatures.
With this in mind, there is no reason to expect these measures to disappear anytime soon.
This message updates our related previous reporting.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
