Opinion – Karena Cash: Youth employment is good, but not if health, safety are at risk

Entering the labor force young has its benefits. Having a job as a teen (ages 16-18) can predict higher quality jobs and higher wages in adulthood. Quality work experience at a young age can improve physical and mental health in the long term, as well as reduce the likelihood that a youth will interact with the criminal justice system.
 
However, youth only benefit from employment when they are working in safe, age-appropriate environments.

In Kentucky and across the country, we have seen a significant increase in child labor violations. The United States has seen an 88% increase in child labor violations since 2019, while Kentucky went from 73 child labor violations between 2015-2018 to 948 between 2019-2022.
 
Kentucky made national headlines last year when McDonald’s in Central Kentucky were found employing children as young as ten to work deep fryers until 2 a.m. without pay.

A slaughterhouse was also fined for employing youth younger than sixteen. Youth working these long hours and around dangerous equipment risk falling behind in school, significant injury, and even death.
 
There are a variety of factors contributing to child labor, from poverty to labor shortages to limited child care options. However, one major contributor to the surge in child labor is a surge in unaccompanied, migrant youth, as reported by the New York Times and investigated by the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee.
 
The U.S. has seen a surge in the number of migrant youth, especially those who enter the U.S. without a parent or adult guardian. These youth – many of whom are fleeing poverty and violence in their home countries – have limited oversight and few legal protections in the U.S., making them especially vulnerable to labor exploitation and trafficking.

  
Since FY 2021, approximately 4,500 unaccompanied migrant youth have been released to sponsors in Kentucky. The federal government is responsible for ensuring migrant children are placed in safe environments and in school, but there is limited data on where these children end up or who cares for them, leading to some children being placed in the care of potential labor traffickers. This has led to many children working in unsafe and illegal conditions.
 
Youth employment is good for Kentucky’s youth, communities, and workforce. However, this employment should not get in the way of a child’s education or put their health or safety at risk.
 
During the recent state legislative session, an out-of-state group pushed for a bill (HB 255) that would have weakened Kentucky’s child labor laws, which are currently stronger than federal law. House Bill 255 ultimately failed in the Kentucky Senate.

Given the dramatic increase in labor violations, policymakers should focus on ensuring state agencies have the resources needed to identify and investigate child labor violations, rather than weakening existing laws. On the federal level, the Biden Administration should increase oversight of migrant children released to U.S. families and sponsors to ensure these children are in school, cared for, and connected to appropriate resources.

Karena Cash is policy and research director at Kentucky Youth Advocates.

See the CDC’s Talking Safety curriculum for young workers here.