Illinois, Missouri have vastly different approaches to child labor

By ELIZABETH DONALD
Illinois Correspondent

Summer jobs may be a rite of American teenagerhood, but Labor officials are reminding parents that there are laws in place to protect their children from being exploited or placed in danger.

ILLINOIS REGULATIONS
In Illinois, workers under age 16 must have an employment certificate confirming they are physically capable of performing the job. Work permits for minors age 14-15 are obtained from the local school district or Regional Office of Education. The Illinois Department of Labor issued a reminder in June for employers and for parents.

“Child labor laws are meant to protect some of the most vulnerable workers in Illinois,” said Illinois Department of Labor Director Jane Flanagan. “We’ve seen too many stories in the national news about children being exploited or hurt at work. The rules in place allow young people to be employed in safe workplaces that don’t negatively impact their health or education.”

They are prohibited from working in hazardous occupations, working in a place of business where alcohol is served or bottled and brewed, and cannot work before 7 a.m. and after 9 p.m. during the summer. They cannot work more than 48 hours a week in the summer or 24 hours a week during the school year, and also may not work more than eight hours a day when combining school and work hours.

Child workers must be paid a minimum of $12 per hour – which is still less than Illinois’ adult minimum wage of $14 – and must receive a 30-minute meal break every five hours.

Under the new One Day in Seven law, child workers – and all other workers in Illinois – are entitled to a day of rest after six consecutive days of work.

MISSOURI REGULATIONS
In Missouri, child labor laws generally follow federal guidelines prohibiting children under 14 from working. Likewise work certificates are necessary, but homeschooled children can be licensed by their parents and may work in their parents’ business.

However, Missouri does not require employers to provide adult or youth workers with breaks of any kind, including a lunch hour.

Earlier this year, Missouri’s state legislature entertained a bill to eliminate work permits for children ages 14-15, sponsored by state Rep. Dave Hinman (R-O’Fallon) and state Sen. Nick Schroer (R-Defiance).

At the moment, 34 states require youth work permits issued by schools or a state agency.

FEDERAL REGULATIONS
The federal Department of Labor does not require work permits or restrict hours and times of day for workers over age 16, though minors over 16 still cannot work in a hazardous occupation.

Under federal law, children under age 14 cannot be employed in non-agricultural occupations, with exemptions for jobs like delivering newspapers, caddying at a golf course, acting and casual babysitting.

Speaking of acting: Illinois law requires that a child performer in an artistic or creative service must have a trust fund set up in their name in which 15 percent of their gross earnings must be deposited.

Hazardous occupations are defined by law, which includes bowling alleys, skating rinks, amusement parks, garages, mines and oil refineries, stone cutting or polishing, most factory work, steel and woodworking mills, spray painting, laundries and dry cleaners, gas stations, construction and roofing, meatpacking and processing plants, and any work involving ladders, scaffolds or requiring a firearm, among others.

69 PERCENT INCREASE IN VIOLATIONS
Last year, the Washington Post found that a Florida-based think tank named the Foundation for Government Accountability had been drafting legislation to remove legal protections for child labor and hired more than 100 lobbyists to work to remove restrictions on child labor at the state level. Bills have been debated in Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Minnesota and Ohio to strip regulations preventing children from working longer hours and in more hazardous occupations.

The U.S. Department of Labor has seen a 69 percent increase in minors employed in violation of federal law since 2018, according to the Post. Children have been found working in construction sites, auto factories and meatpacking plants, many of them undocumented immigrants whose families may fear retaliation for reporting abuse.

Missouri’s bill was in large part based on the model put forth by the FGA, adding a requirement for a parental permission slip that FGA did not suggest. Earlier drafts of the bill would have extended the hours children can work, but that provision was removed when lawmakers realized it conflicted with federal law.

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce, Missouri Retailers and Missouri Grocers Association supported the bill, according to the Missouri Independent. It has been supported or opposed generally on party lines, with Democrats opposed.

Missouri state Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch (R-Hallsville) called children “lazy,” and suggested that they should begin working at age nine as she did. “They don’t know what work ethic is,” she said, according to Newsweek. “But they know how to play video games all night. They know how to join gangs. They know how to get in trouble. Get a job and be responsible.”

Missouri issued more than 10,000 youth employment licenses last year, according to the Independent.

In Illinois, possible violations of the Child Labor Law can be reported by emailing dol.childlaborcomplaints@illinois.gov or by visiting labor.illinois.gov/childlabor.

In Missouri, report by filling out a youth employment complaint form at labor.mo.gov.