{"id":3845,"date":"2023-06-16T14:01:05","date_gmt":"2023-06-16T19:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/?p=3845"},"modified":"2023-06-16T14:01:05","modified_gmt":"2023-06-16T19:01:05","slug":"surging-child-labor-violations-prompt-legislative-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/?p=3845","title":{"rendered":"Surging child labor violations prompt legislative action"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20370%20247'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/image-74.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"zeen-lazy-load-base zeen-lazy-load wp-image-3846\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"501\" src=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/image-74.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3846\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/image-74.png 750w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/image-74-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/image-74-370x247.png 370w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/image-74-293x196.png 293w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/image-74-120x80.png 120w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/image-74-240x160.png 240w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/image-74-390x261.png 390w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>(The Center Square) \u2013 Amid a worsening workforce shortage, more employers \u2013 both across the state and the country \u2013 may set aside child labor laws as a solution, officials say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The alarming trend prompted lawmakers on the House Labor and Industry Committee to advance legislation that would double penalties for these violations: $1,000 for first-time offenders and up to $3,000 for repeated incidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen the fines are too low, they are seen as just another cost of doing business,\u201d said the bill\u2019s sponsor, Rep. Regina Young, D-Philadelphia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mirroring federal trends which have shown a staggering 283% increase in violations since 2015, the state Department of Labor and Industry&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PALaborIndustry\/status\/1668982055823089665\">has noted an uptick<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;in child labor complaints this year. The numbers suggest that \u2013 in the face of staffing shortages \u2013 employers have indeed begun to look at these violations as a calculated risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Several recent exposes have brought to light the prevalence of minors working in harsh conditions, conjuring images from America\u2019s industrial past. Young described instances of violations within the state, including a 17-year-old who fell 24 feet from a roof, and 154 children \u2013 all 14- or 15-years-old \u2013 working illegally for a single McDonald\u2019s franchise owner in Erie and Warren Counties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite unanimous support,&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legis.state.pa.us\/cfdocs\/billinfo\/billinfo.cfm?syear=2023&amp;sind=0&amp;body=H&amp;type=B&amp;bn=1354\">the legislation<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;didn\u2019t come without its concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Majority Committee Chairman Jason Dawkins, D-Philadelphia, said the department\u2019s investigators are not currently mandatory reporters, nor do they have the training to make these determinations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSuspicion, as we all know, can be an awfully low bar to trigger a requirement to report,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Minority Chairman Rep. Ryan MacKenzie, R-Macungie, also noted that different types of child labor require different responses. The exploitation of unaccompanied migrant children, he said, differs from a high schooler working a few extra hours at a miniature golf course throughout the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese unaccompanied minors, sometimes 12 or 13 years old, have been found cleaning slaughterhouses at night, working in factories, or doing other dangerous prohibited occupations,\u201d Mackenzie said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He offered an amendment that would add a misdemeanor offense \u201cif the violation was willful and the person knew or reasonably should have known that the minor was without proper parental care, supervision, and control.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A second provision required reporting to ICE when an employer is suspected of violating federal law regarding undocumented immigrants. Child welfare authorities would also be notified if the victim is a child or there is suspicion of abuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Young criticized Mackenzie\u2019s amendment for wading into the polarizing politics of immigration policy and enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cChildren are children,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The amendment failed along a party-line vote, as did a second proposal establishing an annual reporting requirement to the legislature. The bill then advanced to the House floor for further consideration.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Original Article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/pennsylvania\/article_e03cdaa6-0c3d-11ee-9fe4-3b5c535ff1c8.html\">https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/pennsylvania\/article_e03cdaa6-0c3d-11ee-9fe4-3b5c535ff1c8.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(The Center Square) \u2013 Amid a worsening workforce shortage, more employers \u2013 both across the state and the country \u2013 may set aside child labor laws as a solution, officials say. The alarming trend prompted lawmakers on the House Labor and Industry Committee to advance legislation that would double penalties for these violations: $1,000 for first-time offenders and up to $3,000 for repeated incidents. \u201cWhen the fines are too low, they are seen as just another cost of doing business,\u201d [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/78"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3845"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3845\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3847,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3845\/revisions\/3847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}