Child Labor Laws

Written by Barbara Mackessy

Pretest for this Unit

• What are child labor laws?• Why do we need child labor laws?• At what age can you get your first legal job?• How many hours can you work now?• At what age do the hour restrictions disappear?• At what age do the job restrictions disappear? • What is the industrial revolution?• Did children 14 hour days in the past?• Did children as young as 5 work the long days?• Why would anyone hire a 5 year old to work?

Georgia Performance Standard

• MSCM8-3: Students will examine and demonstrate an understanding of employability skills to enhance career success.

• Explain and summarize the state and federal child labor laws.

Let’s take a look at how things were in the past in America so that we

have a good foundation of background knowledge to understand the importance of Child Labor Laws.

When did people start working in America?What jobs were available at that time?

How were things made in the old days long ago?

Where did people get the things that they needed for everyday use?

How things began…The Cottage Industry Format

• Making things by yourself.

• Example: you would get your clay, work the clay, spin the clay, and make a bowl, fire the bowl, glaze the bowl OR you would cut down the tree, saw off a piece of the tree and then carve out the bowl from the wood.

• You are responsible for all parts of the process.

• You could fix your mistake.

• You went at your own speed.

Assembly Line Production

• You do not make the items by yourself.

• You work with other people.

• If you make a mistake, you can not fix it the item is moving down a line.

• More pressure on you to keep up.

• Products were produced faster.

• Products were produced cheaper.

• This brought prices down.

When did things change?

• What is the Industrial Revolution?

• When did the Industrial Revolution start in America?

• Why is the Industrial Revolution important to us in our career class?

Industrial Revolution• Started in Great Britain in the late 1700’s.• Brought prices down• Workers used machines to do the jobs they used to do

by hand.• Created an enormous increase in the production of

goods.• Changed people’s lives and made life easier for some

people. Keep in mind that some still could not afford even cheap goods.

• The industrial revolution began the world we live in today.

Francis Cabot Lowell

• He went to England from 1810-1812• He visited Lancashire Mills, he came up with the idea to build an

entire factory to carry the process from cotton to fabric (with his family’s money).

• On the way back to America, he drew out all the things that he had seen in the past two years. Why would he wait until he was on the return trip?

• He returned to America, he and some others started a Manufacturing Company. They build the first Textile mill in Waltham, MA.

• This was the first textile mill in America. • He found out what could happen if you follow your dreams.• Mill opened in 1823.

Manufacturing Mills• By 1831, fewer than twenty years later, there were 250

mills and the number continued to increase until there were 302 mills in Massachusetts.

• In the mid 1800’s there were thousands of women who worked in the mills. Really the first time that women worked outside of the home in large numbers.

• They produced over 2,000,000 yards of cotton per week. The cotton prints sold for 9-1/4 cents per yard but just five years earlier had sold for 111 cents per yard. This meant that you could now buy 12 for the price of what one had been.

• Manufacturing plants cost a lot of money but the production made it worth every cent.

Who worked in these textile mills?

• Mill Girls

• Ages 14-30

• Employed for 9 or 10 months a year

• They went home during the hottest summer months

Average Day at the Mill• The “Mill Girl” got up at 4:30 a.m. They had to get up, wash

up, get dressed and be at the mill by 5:00 a.m.(6 days a week)

• At 5:05a.m., the gates were locked, if late the girls had to walk through the counting house where they were scolded, docked pay, or even fired.

• Bells rang at 7:00 a.m., noon, and 7:00 p.m. for 30 minute meal breaks.

• Curfew hour was 10:00 p.m, the last bell rang.• Bell system kept them on schedule.• Longer work days in summer (more light)• Averaging 14 hour days, temperatures rising to 110 degrees.• Windows nailed shut, very humid, workers often got sick,

sometimes killed by machinery

The Lowell Mill Girls were the first women to go on strike in America.

• Many mills were built over time which lead to over production – which lead to wage cuts.

• In 1830’s, they marched and sang songs and gave speeches.

• They wanted 12 hour days. They had been averaging 14 hour days.

• Most of the mill girls had left the mills by the mid 1850’s.

http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5714/

Mill Girls Pay Check

• Keep in mind that they were paid according to their job title and department. They did not all make the same amount.

• If the Mill Girls earned 14.00 per week but had to pay the rooming house director $5.00 for their room and meals each week, how much did they make?

• Now if they worked averaged 14 hours per day and worked 6 days per week, how much per hour did they make?

• Keep in mind that women at this time had no rights, servants wages were 50 cent to one dollar a week, tailoress work in homes were 75 cents per week and meals.

• (Department of Natural Resources) and http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/robinson-lowell.html

Class Discussion: Imagine yourself as a mill girl in the past, how would you feel about the

hours and wages?

• Keep in mind that they earned money to pay back taxes on family farms. They felt a sense of accomplishment and pride in doing so. (Women had no legal rights not even to own property at that time.)

• Also keep in mind that these girls were promised a good education in reading, writing and lady-like manners, which they needed to get a good man for marriage at that time.

Immigrant Workers• By 1870, most of the girls had left the mills.

• Immigrants replaced them.

• Immigrants were from Ireland, Canada, Italy and Greece.

• They got paid 1.25 a week working at the mills.

• They had to pay for their own food and water. That left them 75 cents per week.

• Working 14 hour days and 6 days per week how much did they make per hour?

• They lived in tenements (wooden apartments) with leaky roofs.

• Immigrants soon began to complain about the conditions and pay. They went on strike, marched, gave speeches and carried signs.

• The mills closed without people to work in them.

• Neither the immigrants nor the mills are making any money.

Mills moved south as complaints and laws about child labor were passed in the North

• Children as young as three could collect cotton waste.

• Children as young as seven could operate simple carding and spinning equipment.

• Children worked 12 hour days in the winter, 16 hour days in the summer, 6 days a week.

Why did they hire Children?

• Pay them less• They complain less• They are easier to control

• http://web.bryant.edu/~ehu/h364proj/fall_98/hulton/Labor.htm

Child Labor• Children as young as five worked as doffers taking

cotton off the machines, or as bobbin girls – removing empty bobbins from the machines.

• Now think about you having already worked in the factory for 8 years for 12 or 14 hours a day by this time in your life.

• How would you feel if children could be employed today?

• In 1920 a law was passed that required children under the age of 15 to take 3 months off each year for school.

Federal Child Labor LawsFLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) 1938 “establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, record keeping, and child labor standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in federal, state and local governments” (National Consumer League) (Smartbiz.com).

Child Labor Laws are designed to protect the educational rights of children and to prevent them from being employed in jobs or conditions that could be detrimental to their health or well being (National Consumer League) (Smartbiz.com)

Child Labor Throughout History• For thousands of years children have been used as

workers around the world. • The use of children as workers began in the

United States in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. “Industrialization was a strong force in increasing the number of working children.” (Stolen Dreams: Portraits of Working Children by Parker, 1998).

• Over 2 million children worked in the United States 1900. These children worked in factories making clothes, weaving fabric, canning fish, or they picked cotton, sold newspapers, or shinned shoes (Working Children by Saller, 1998).

History of Child Labor

• Poor children in large cities were sent out by parents as young as 6 or 7 to earn their keep and contribute to the household. The youngest worked as scavengers, gathering trash, cinders, rope, metal bottles, anything that could be sold to junk dealers.

• In 1870, the census reported 750,000 children under the age of 15 working, this does not include the number of children working on farms or in family businesses.

Industrial Revolution

Machinery took over functions formerly performed by hand. Children as young as five could tend these machines in textile industries and coal mines.

Child labor became an issue in the U.S.

History

• The National Child Labor Committee was formed in 1904.

• Congress and the Supreme courts were at odds over regulations for child labor.

• It wasn’t until 1938 that the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed children were provided some protection under law. The Act provided for 40 hour weeks and 40 cents per hour. The Act was declared constitutional by the Supreme court in 1941. (www.historyplace.com)

• Today, there are still a significant number of children who are migrant farm and sweatshop workers in the United States. (Stolen Dreams: Portraits of Working Children by Parker, 1998)

Child Labor Laws apply to businesses that engage in interstate

commerce, producing good for interstate commerce, or handling,

selling or working on goods or materials that have been moved in

or produced in interstate commerce. Usually an annual dollar amount of

$500,000 applies (Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy) (Small Business Handbook)

Minimum Wage

• Federal minimum wage went to $5.85 per hour on July 24, 2007.

• Federal Minimum wage went to $6.55 on July 24, 2008.

• Federal Minimum wages went to $7.25 on July 24, 2009.

• (U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division)

Non Agricultural Employment

• Minimum age is 14 years old

• Exceptions being newspaper delivery, radio, television, movie or theatrical productions

• Unless child works for parents, who are the sole owner of non manufacturing or hazardous business.

(National Consumer League)

14 and 15 year olds

• Outside of school hours

• Maximum 3 hours per day

• 18 hours per week• 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

(Small Business Handbook) (Fair Labor Standards Act)

• When school is not in session

• 8 hours per day• 40 hours per week

• June 1 to Labor Day• 7:00a.m. to 9:00 p.m.• Never overtime

16 and 17 year olds

• Unlimited hours

• No laws restricting hours or days per week.

• Some jobs are still restricted

• Hazardous Order 2 was revised in 1998 by Congress to allow 17 year olds to work on jobs with occupational driving. (National Consumers

League)

This is the first time that a child under the age of 18 could drive on a job.

Let’s review the information from this presentation

• What are child labor laws?• Why do we need child labor laws?• At what age can you get your first legal job?• How many hours can you work now?• At what age do the hour restrictions disappear?• At what age do the job restrictions disappear? • What is the industrial revolution?• Did children work 14 hour days in the past?• Did children as young as 5 work the long days?• Why would people hire a 5 year old to work in the past?

Hazardous Employment - Under 18 years old

• Manufacturing or storing explosives• Driving motor vehicles and being an outside helper on a motor vehicle• Coal mining• Logging and saw milling• Power-driven wood working machines• Exposure to radioactive substances and to ionizing radiations• Power driven hoisting equipment• Power-driven metal forming, punching, and shearing machines• Mining, other than coal mining• Meat packing or processing• Power driven bakery machines• Power driven paper products machines• Manufacturing brick, tile and related products• Power driven circular saws, band saws, and guillotine shears• Wrecking, demolition, and ship breaking operations• Roofing operations• Excavation operations (Federal Child Labor Laws)

Agriculture Employment

• 10 – 13 year olds may work on farms owned by parents or with parent’s consent outside of school hours in non-hazardous jobs

• 14-15 year olds may work on farms outside of school hours in non-hazardous jobs

• 16 year olds may perform any job hazardous or not on the farm for unlimited hours

Agribusiness

• Workers can not afford to pay day care with the low wages they receive from farmers.

• When earning low wages themselves they need all family members to work.

• Driving by fields in Oregon or Florida, one would see a common sight of children working in those fields.

Penalties• “Employers are subject to a civil money penalty of

up to $10,000 for each employee employed in violation of the child labor provisions.”

• Employers may file an exemption within 15 days of the penalty an an hearing will take place to determine if the penalty was appropriate.

• Either party may appeal to the Secretary of Labor.• If an exemption is not filed in 15 days the penalty

is final. (Small business Handbook)

Georgia requires a Work Permit for all children under the age of 18.

This permit is obtained from your local Board of Education or your local high school counselor. The

employer, the child and a designee from the Board of Education must complete their section on the Work

Permit.

Georgia Laws• No minor under 12 can work (federal under 14). Which

one do you have to follow? Why?• No minor under 16 can work between 9:00 p.m. and

6:00 a.m. ( federal 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.) Which one do you have to follow? Why?

• Can not work during school hours.• Never over 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week when

school is not in session.

Even through Georgia has these hours and ages as law, minors must meet all Federal Child Labor Laws.

Georgia Prohibits Minors Under the age of 16• Power driven machinery or equipment including elevators.• Automobiles, trucks, tractors, motorcycles, locomotives or

any other motorized vehicles of whatever design or intended use.

• Any hand or powered portable tools or equipment peculiar to or generally identified with the building and trades industry including pressure contained vessels whether or not portable.

• Butchering, slaughtering meat (including poultry and seafood) processing or rendering plant or freezing and packaging same.

• Fixtures: Retail and wholesale stores where employment is in close proximity to hazardous fixtures, such as: open boilers, deep fryers and demonstrable merchandise, such as: electric fans, guns, knives, etc.

• Railroads, unguarded gears, vessels or boats whether or not engaged in navigation or commerce.

• From GA Dept of Labor

Georgia - Prohibits• Use of dangerous poisonous gases or acids• Dispensing, packing, loading or unloading paints or dyes.• Any operation where dust or lint in injurious quantities are present.• Scaffolding or construction.• Communication or public utilities.• Freezers and/or meat coolers.• Loading and unloading goods to or from trucks, railroad cars,

conveyors etc.• Warehouses• Explosives• Logging and saw milling• Radioactive substances• Wrecking, shipwrecking, roofing and/or demolition.• Excavation and /or tunneling.• Mine, coke breaker, coke over or quarry.

From GA Dept of Labor

Child Labor Around the World• Child labor in other countries still exist because of

the poverty levels. The child’s income serves as a major contribution to the families total income.

• Africa and Asia account for 90% of total child employment.

• A study found that the child decides to work in only 8% of the time in these developing countries. The other 92% of the time they are made or required to work.

(Human Capital Development and Operations Policy)

Child Labor Laws are for minors under the age of 18.

• Many companies and agencies require that their employees be older than 18 years old.

• Examples include: Some sheriffs department, some police departments, many trucking companies, and Federal Government agencies such as FBI, CIA,

• Some companies and agencies require that their employees have a Bachelor’s Degree before applying for a position.

Let’s Review Again To Make Sure We Have a Good Understanding of the Laws.

• Why do we need Child Labor Laws?• What are child labor laws?• At what age can you get your first legal job?• How many hours can you work during the school year at

age 14?• How many hours can you work per week during the

school year?• How many hours can you work per day during the

summer as a 14 year old?• How many hours can you work per week during the

summer as a 14 year old?• At what age do the hour restrictions disappear?• At what age do the job restrictions disappear?

The intent of the Federal Child Labor Law is to protect the health, safety and welfare of all children under the age of 18 by restricting the hours of work and the conditions and occupations involved.

Federal Child Labor Law

Child Labor Law

• The minimum age for employment is 14 years old unless you are employed on a farm or domestic service, then there are no restrictions.

• Special restrictions apply to deliver newspapers, being in theater, modeling, television and the motion pictures.

Minimum Age

Note: Georgia Work Permits are required for all jobs except farm work, domestic work, lawns of residents and babysitting.

Georgia Child Labor Law

Everyone under 18 years of age needs a work permit.

1. For 16 and 17 year olds this work permit is a transferable employment certificate. This can be transferred between employers from job to job.

2. For 14 and 15 year olds a new work permit must be obtained every time they switch employers.

3. The work permits can be obtained from you local high school counselors and then completed online or by your local board of education.

Work Permit

** Worker’s Permit is required unless you are 18

Georgia Child Labor Law• An overview of hours of work.

– 14 and 15 year olds are not permitted to work more than 3 hours per day nor more than 18 hours per week when school is in session They can not be at work before 7am or after 7pm during the school year.

– From June to Labor day or until your local school starts they can work 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week and be at work up to 9pm during the summer.

– The law states June – Labor Day- but with our schools starting in July and/or August then a 14 year old must go to 3 hours per day when school starts.

– Never overtime.

– Jobs are still limited

Georgia Child Labor Law

• During the School year.– Students may work as

many hours as they would like.

– There are no starting and stopping hour restrictions.

– All hour restrictions disappear.

– Jobs are still restricted

• During the Summer time– Students may work as

many hours as they would like.

– There are no starting and stopping hour restrictions on what can be worked.

– All hour restrictions disappear.

– Jobs are still restricted.

16 and 17 year olds

Georgia Child Labor Law

At the age of 18 the job restrictions disappear.

Be aware that some companies have an age restriction of 21 or even 25 (company policy not law).

Georgia Child Labor Law

Crane and hoisting operations

Electrical work

Explosives

Radioactive substances

Elevator operations

Excavating

Manufacturing

Mining

• Roofing• Welding• Demolition

• Woodworking Machinery

• Paper products machinery

• Bakery mixing Machinery

• Cleaning or oiling Machinery

• Punch press Machinery

Prohibited Occupations under 18Here are few occupations that are prohibited:

Georgia Child Labor Law

• No machinery• No manufacturing of any kind• No building or construction

work• No heavy work• No highway work (open road)• No freezers/coolers• No explosives• No warehouses• No loading/unloading trucks

• Where liquor is sold or dispensed

• No scaffolds and ladders• No window cleaning (above

ground)• No hand or power tools• No stoves, ovens • No work on communication or

public utilities• No logging• No weapons

Prohibited Occupations under 16

Some prohibited occupations are:

Georgia Child Labor Law

These were just some examples of prohibited occupations under Georgia’s Child Labor Law.

For more details on these and other occupations or any other information on the Child Labor Laws check with the Georgia Department of Labor.

• A very good site to find additional child labor law

information and details.• You can find out more on their web site

• http://www.youthrules.dol.gov/1-866-4-USWAGE

• Also contact:• Georgia Department of Labor• US Department of Labor

                      

Georgia Child Labor Law

As you start your job hunting remember to keep safety in mind and follow all rules and regulations.

Work experience while in school can be very enlightening.

Early work experience will show you what the expectations of future employers.

Preview of Future Evaluation: Your Opinion – Your Views

• Now that we know the facts about the Federal Child Labor Laws, do you think that the minimum ages should be remain at 14, should it be increased to an older age, or should it be decreased to an age below 14?

• Explain your reasons in detail.• Be ready to defend your answer to the class.• Tally the class as to the number who

selected each one.

Preview of Future Evaluation:“Task for 14-15 year olds”.

• Now that you have a good understanding of what a minor can or can not do, make a list of 20 tasks or jobs that a 14 or 15 year old can legally perform at the worksite.

• Keep a running list on the board of all the tasks or jobs that the class comes up with. Compile that list into a poster.

• Now what locations in your community offer these tasks?

The money you save with your part time job after school and

during the summer could pay for your food and dorm room in

college. The HOPE Scholarship could pay for your tuition and

books.