URI professor discusses worsening child labor in the United States

KINGSTON, R.I. – March 13, 2023 -In recent weeks, the issue of child labor in the United States – particularly among migrant children – has come under new scrutiny. In mid-February, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a release detailing a $1.5 million penalty paid by Packers Sanitation Services Inc., one of the largest food sanitation companies in the country. An investigation found the company had illegally employed more than 100 children ages 13 to 17 in hazardous jobs, including having them work overnight shifts, at 13 meat processing facilities in eight states. The case was one of the largest in the department's history.

The next week, The New York Times published an investigative report on the exploitation of migrant child workers arriving as unaccompanied minors in the United States. The report found a shadow workforce, touching virtually every industry in every state in the nation, benefitting not only under-the-table operations, but also global corporations.

To what extent is this a problem of our own making? How do current U.S. economic policies and/or policies and practices related to immigration contribute to this – if at all?

Worsening child labor is a problem of our own making. U.S. economic policies have led to a decline in labor protections, a decline in real wages, an inadequate minimum wage, underfunded schools and teachers, a failing health care system, a housing market crisis that is increasing homelessness and housing insecurity, and an all-around inadequate social safety net. Although the U.S. spends more of our GDP on social spending than Norway (22.7% compared to 20.7%), we score well below them on most economic rights and societal wellbeing measures. We score significantly worse than almost all developed countries on economic rights outcomes. According to the United National Human Rights Council, the United States has the highest youth poverty among OECD-member countries, highest infant mortality rates, a low life expectancy, and the highest rate of income inequality among Western countries. The $1.5 trillion dollar tax cut under former President Trump benefitted the wealthiest and worsened inequality. By neglecting to confront poverty and reduce inequality, we have all but assured child labor will worsen and continue to be a problem.

How likely, or to what degree, is this a problem that can be solved? How?

There is a lot of research on the causes of child labor and what would reduce it. We know how to fix the problem, but it is politically unpopular to do so. Policies that lead to economic security reduce child labor. In contrast, attempts to criminalize child labor often do not work and end up backfiring and putting children in more danger. Similarly, making it harder for migrants to take advantage of social programs, tax credits, and a path to citizenship puts children at risk.

Policies that reduce the economic need for families and children to enter the labor force are the best bet for reducing child labor. Improving the social safety net, providing safe and decent public housing and rent control so that families do not have to choose between sending their child to work or ending up homeless, a universal health care system (since health care bills are a leading cause of bankruptcy), an adequate minimum wage tied to inflation, jobs that pay enough for a family to live on, strong labor laws and labor protections, and investment in public education are all policies that would reduce child labor. Most of these policies are economic rights protected in international human rights treaties such as the International Covenant on Economic and Social Rights, which the United States has not ratified. For example, the Earned Income Tax Credit has been shown to improve how children do in school, college attendance, and earning in the long run. Universal Pre-K and universal childcare would also go a long way to reducing child labor and are issues that have become central to democratic party debate. Adopting a framework that sees economic rights as rights guaranteed by law, which President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Second Bill of Rights sought to do (guaranteeing a well-paying job, adequate income, food, time off, housing, health care, social security, and education), would be a good step toward addressing many of our shortcomings.

Similarly, liberalizing our migration and asylum policies could go a long way to reducing child labor among migrant children – many of whom fall prey to child labor out of fear they will be deported. Migrant children and families are often unable to access social safety net programs which might make child labor unnecessary. Similarly, our migration policies often lead to children in the United States being separated from their families. Child labor becomes a way for these children to survive.

The United States should also devote more resources to investigating and exposing the exploitation of children in the workforce, increase penalties for violations, follow through, and impose penalties more frequently in instances of breach. Bottom line: More government regulation of business is needed to ensure child labor is not occurring and to make the cost of employing children too risky for business.