Suddenly lawmakers in several states are rushing to relax child labor laws to make it easier for teenagers to work longer hours, later hours and more dangerous jobs.
In Arkansas, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a law that scraps the requirement that 14- and 15-year-olds first obtain work papers before getting a job. Ohio’s state Senate voted overwhelmingly to let 14- and-15-year-olds work until 9 p.m. on school days. In Minnesota, Republican lawmakers are pushing to let 16- and-17-year-olds work on construction sites, and in Iowa, to let 16- and 17-year-olds serve alcoholic beverages in bars.
It’s hard to imagine a worse time to roll back restrictions on child labor,