Child Labor Laws

The following quote shows how the United States Government recognized child labor in the late 1900’s, “There is work that profits children, and there is work that brings profit only to employers. The object of employing children is not to train them, but to get high profits from their work.” (Hines, 1908) The belief is the Industrial Revolution attributes to the manipulation of child labor. This period in history altered the way people especially children existed and worked. During this period of time over two million children worked. The children worked to help support their families. Children started to work as early as five years of age. During this era children were normally uneducated unless they came from families of wealth. The children were exposed to deplorable, unsafe and unhealthy conditions. A normal work week would consist of approximately 70 hours and the wages earned would amount to pennies. Many of the children who were employed in factories and in the mines developed a variety of serious health conditions, such as bronchitis and tuberculosis. Those children working in mines developed serious back problems that led to paralysis. A huge number of children died as a result of working in horrible conditions. (McCarthy, 2004)

In 1904 a group called the reformers or The National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), established a movement to protest child labor conditions. These reformers agenda was to change the welfare of the child and put an end to child labor. Lewis Hine the spokesman for the NCLC, traveled to many states to get proof of the conditions that plagued many children who were working at that time. His proof brought about changes in many states limiting the age at which a child could work. At this point in time The Supreme Court would not take a stance on the issue. (McCarthy, 2004)

In 1916, The Supreme Court finally got involved with the child labor issue. Also in this year Congress passed the first child labor bill, The Keating-Owen Act. The Keating-Owen Act prohibited the sale of any item produced by businesses in the canning, factory or mining industries employing children. The act also aided in the regulation of how many hours a child could work. Two years later The Supreme Court declared the Keating-Owen Act unconstitutional, on the legal grounds that Congress abused their congressional power to regulate interstate trade. (McCarthy, 2004)

On April 15, 1918 Roland Dagenhart, the next case regarding child labor was argued in North Carolina in the United States District Court. Mr. Dagenhart the father of two sons working in a cotton mill felt Congress violated his son’s freedom to work. The response to the claim from the U.S. District Court on June 3, 1918, stated Dagenhart’s bill was unconstitutional and directly violated child labor laws that dealt trade from state to state as did the Keating-Owen Act. As a result of the Court’s response attorney W.C. Hammer filed an appeal with the Supreme Court asking for assistance. The Supreme Court had to decide whether or not Congress stepped outside their boundaries and misconstrued the interpretation of the Commerce Clause. The high court saw this as unconstitutional and Congress did over step their boundaries.

Later in 1918 another bill was introduced on of children. This bill also attempted to regulate child labor by imposing a 10% tax to businesses employing children under the age of 16. This bill was also declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. When the stock market crashed in the 1920’s many adults lost their jobs but the children continued to work. In 1933 under The New Deal Era, The National Recovery Act was passed. This act was also deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court because the act outlawed all child labor. Also in the same year Congress made another attempt with the National Industrial Recovery Act to pass a law regarding child labor. (McCarthy, 2004) The purpose of this act was to set age requirements and working conditions. Again the Supreme Court ruled this act unconstitutional. In 1938, The United States government finally recognized the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) also known as the Federal Wage and Hour Law. FLSA makes it mandatory for employers to pay children minimum wage and gives children a maximum amount of hour that can be worked. This act also sets age limits and what jobs children are able to work. In the case U.S. v. Darby, the FLSA was upheld and reversed the case Hammer v. Dagenhart this happened in 1941.

Today, The Department of Labor oversees child labor and enforces the labor of children. In the current work environment, the FLSA has provisions