The early 1900s witnessed a struggle for the rights of workers, including child laborers, which resulted in legislation to protect those rights. (Photo by Lewis Hine, Creative Commons)

A group of senators from Maine, with the support of Governor LePage, have proposed two new bills that would, according to Alternet, “allow employers to pay anyone under 20 a six-month ‘training wage’ that falls more than $2 per hour below the minimum wage, eliminate rules establishing a maximum number of hours kids 16 and over can work during school days, allow those under 16 to work up to four hours per school day, allow home-schooled kids to work during school hours and eliminate any limit on how many hours kids of any age can work in agriculture (with a signature from their parents or legal guardians)…[and] allow teens to work longer hours and later into the night than is allowed under current law.”

Senator Jane Cunningham from Missouri has proposed a bill to eliminate the current prohibition on the employment of children under 14, remove restrictions on the number of hours and during what time of the day a child may work, repeal requirements that children between 14 and 15 obtain work permits to be employed, allow any child under 16 to work in any capacity in a place that provides sleeping accommodations, and remove the authority of the director of the Division of Labor Standards 1) to inspect employers of children, and 2) to require them to keep records for children they employ.

The National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), founded in 1904, fought to reveal the poor working conditions and lives of child workers in order to create popular support for child labor laws, as well as compulsory education laws for children. The result of their efforts was, in part, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, enacted by Congress during the Great Depression. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, originally enacted to cover the private sector and later extended to cover the public sector, regulates child labor, restricting the number of hours a child can work and prohibiting employment of children under a certain age. The Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, upheld the constitutionality of the Fair Labor Standards Act in United States v. Darby Lumber Co (1941).

How can we again allow the exploitation of young workers? Bulmer, a Republican and resident of Belfast, Maine, said: “This bill will allow employers to hire fewer people currently in the unemployment line, while maximizing young people's working hours and pocketing more profit.” Businesses in support of the changes to labor laws favor profits over the wellbeing of their workers, as illustrated by the terms that would allow the children to be hired for less than minimum wage and also interfere with the children’s education. Performance in school may be undermined by long or late work hours for children resulting in lower grades and less likelihood to pursue higher education thus limiting their chances for success in the future as thinkers and contributors to society.

These new legislative proposals would compromise the future of America. The early 1900s witnessed a struggle for the rights of workers, including child laborers, which resulted in legislation to protect those rights. To allow profits to trump children’s wellbeing will adversely affect the future of the workers, and the future of our country. Will you stand up for our children?

Reach Staff Columnist Cara Palmer here or follow her on Twitter.