The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes child labor standards (as well as minimum wage, overtime pay, equal pay, whistleblower, and record keeping standards). The FLSA's child labor provisions are designed to protect the educational opportunities of minors and prohibit their employment in jobs and under conditions detrimental to their health or well being. What laws do you think are fair and why? What laws do you think are unfair and why?
http://www.stopchildlabor.org/USchildlabor/fact1.htm
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I do beleive that the child labor laws are fair. If you are underage than you should not be working longs hours and still have to attend school during the day full time. These laws are in play for a reasons. So that managers at these resturants don't abuse their power.
ReplyDeleteI feel if they didn't have these laws that we would still be working for fifty cents and hour and 12 hours a day like my grandparents. I feel that they are fair in most cases.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Tiffany. I worked in a restuarant and I think waitress get cheated anyway.
ReplyDeleteJust a comment - what does everyone think about kids whose parents have a business and make their children work - for free, technically. Should the laws apply to them and, if so, how should they be reglated?
ReplyDeleteI think the laws are fair on one hand however, if the family is really having trouble making ends meet and the child wants to work evenings/weekends, whatever to help out then sometimes the laws probably work against them because they can only work so many hours per day. Double-edged sword, that one.
I agree with most of the fair labor laws and kids being able to work and I do have to say that it really means something that someone out there made it obvious that for minors to work it has to fit in with their prior engagements...especially school. This is the best times of their lives and for them to have to work from the time school lets out till 11 or midnight just doesn't even seem right. I think we are definitely headed in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteWetzel,
ReplyDeleteI really like your comment of the business owners and family workers. It is kind of an eye opener!!! Something to think about.
i also agree with what everyone is saying about young kids working long hours it is hard enough for me at 26 to work full-time and attend school full-time and I also have a five year old son, so for young kids or teenagers there should be a law to how long and how many hours they can work. When I was in high school my first job was mcdonalds and working right after school everyday was hard.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with this act and many that support labor laws, things would never change except for inflation which makes us cant afford the normal living in this country
ReplyDeleteI agree with you dona....exactly
ReplyDeleteI was surprised at some of the laws for agriculture. Where I grew up children from the age of ten were on tractors and operating them. I don't think children that young should be driving I guess I just didn't realize there were laws out for that. But like everyone else I agree the laws are pretty fair and children should be being chidlren and not out working long hours for little money. They have the rest of their lives to work.
ReplyDeleteWetzel,
ReplyDeletethat is a very good point,but I think it is something that will never actually be put into law but i think the families should pay their chidlren for working at least a little. I know I would sometimes get paid at home for doing certain chores or tasks and that is how it should be if you have you chidlren working for you at your business.
I feel that most of the child labor laws are not only fair but absolutely necessary. The only one I find a bit unfair is where there is a separate youth minimum wage from the typical one. If a youth under the age of 18 is performing the same job as someone over then they should also be getting at least $5.85 and hour. Instead the $4.25 an hour is allowed for the first 90 days of employment. I don’t really see a reason for this and only opens up opportunities for employers to possibly higher a younger individual over an older one. Despite the quality of work they do, the older one would be passed up since the employer can pay the younger one less for the first 90 days.
ReplyDeleteI also feel that children who work in their families businesses for be compensated for their time they put in. I am unsure of how this could be put into law or regulated.
ReplyDeleteI think the child labor laws are fair and very necessary. If we didn't have them, children would be taken advantage of at their place of work and school would not be their primary concern. I was a waitress for four years and I know when it hit 10:00P.M., those minors had to be out of there! I think ten is still a little late but it's better than nothing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Dona. Most of the labor laws are fair and if we didn't have them, we would be working for pennies.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the laws except for the one that talks about the minimum wage for the youth. I think it is completely unfair for them to be able to receive less pay. If they are working the same type of job as someone older, they deserve the same pay.
ReplyDeleteI do think the laws on a teenager working during school is necessary because when you are a teenager, school is your number one priority. The student doesn't need to stay out late because of a job.
I do agree with Wetzel about the hours a kid can work. I think the law is necessary, as said before. But, I think the person should have a choice if they want to work more hours or longer shifts. I feel that maybe the employer of the student should have to know how the student is doing in school and go by that.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone on the Child Labor Law.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the Child Labor Laws and children at a very young age should not work and that is why the law was established, but I also see nothing wrong with parents teaching children reponsibility at a young age. Children back in the day had more respect for their parents and was pround to make a dollar. It wasn't about getting the newest electronic.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Child Labor law, is the most fair, children should not be working long late hours while trying to atend school. Young children I feel should notbe working at all, with the exception of earning a allowance for doing chores, or mowing lawns, if the are old enough. There is nothing wrong with a teenager getting a part-time job to help pay for their car insurance, or pay for their gas money, this teaches them responsibity. I do feel however, teenagers shouldnt be working late into the night to learn this lesson of resposiblity.
ReplyDeleteclucas,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, there is nothing wrong with parents trying to teach them reponsibility, it teaches them the value of the dollar and also respect for eanrning that dollar
I also feel that the child labor laws are fair. Children that are 14 years of age and going to school full time do not need to work over 3 hrs/day on school days. I feel that there needs to have laws so that children are not working in dangerous situations.
ReplyDeletechild labor laws are fair, in my opinion. many children do work in family businesses, helping to make ends meet. however, i feel children should only be focused on school and after school activities, until seventeen or eighteen years old.
ReplyDeleteWetzel, I think if the child wants to help then they should be able to but there job is to go to school and be a child not a family provider.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the child labor laws are fair because children shouldn't be working under the age of 15 becuase it can be detrimental to childrens well being. Working long hours can affect their ability to make good grades and perform well in school.
ReplyDeleteTiffany,
ReplyDeleteI agree that laws are written for a good reason. Employers can abuse their workers and in some cases not realize it.
I think the hazardous jobs law is great. Most of those jobs are a skilled job that they have no experience doing. This is only to protect the child. It is risky enough working, let alone with hazard equipment.
ReplyDeleteI believe that it should depend on the individual student, some teens are able to handle the pressure of school and work, if they hold a certain GPA, they should be free to determine the amount of hours they can work. 20 hours a week is not alot and with more and more teen driving and the price of insurance it is really hard for them to earn the money they need to pay those bills without help from parents. Responsible students should be rewarded with more rights and privileges. It really wouldn't be hard to monitor grades, they monitor attendance for DMV.
ReplyDeleteI do believe in having the law that younger children should only work limited hours. However I feel that is up to the student and their parents. Obviously working every night of the week and weekends, would be ridiculous but there needs to be a set limit.
ReplyDeleteI think that there is a set limit of age because you need to have that level of maturity in a working environment so that no one gets hurt and things are ran smoothly.
I feel that the child labor laws are fair. I think that a child should concentrate on their school work first, and if they need/want a job then great. However, school should come first to a child so that they don't get stuck at McDonald's for the rest of their life. These laws are just protecting children, and I think that's great.
ReplyDeleteWetzel made a good comment about whether a child should get paid for helping at a family owned business. The person running the palce gets paid, so why shouldn't the child? It's a job no matter whose business it is.
ReplyDeleteThe current laws about minors working seem to be okay. They have to be 16, have to work only a minimum amount of hours, make the same wage, and can not work past a certain number of hours. I worked as soon as I turned 16, and have not stopped since! i enjoyed haveing a job and money that was my own. If anyone goes against these laws like sweatshops I feel that they should face serious punishment.
ReplyDeleteI'm like a lot of you, I think these laws are fair. They have taken in consideration the safety of the children and realize that they do go to school so they can't work long hours.
ReplyDeleteI think the child labor laws are important. Through time, children have had different roles in the work place and I think the ages that are set up now are appropriate. I started doing various jobs when I was 14 and when my parents' help, I was able to manage my time appropriately between work and school. The laws help to set the guidelines so that teenagers are not working too many hours and hopefully still focusing on school. There are some circumstances when I think teens should be able to work more hours than what are set up right now, such as a 16 year old who has to work to care for their child. Unfortunately, this is more of a reality now than it used to be. Sometimes these laws should depend on the situation.
ReplyDeleteThis is my team. I also think that labor laws are very important.
ReplyDeleteI agree that child labor laws are important especially the ones that pertain to the safety laws. This was my teams post.
ReplyDeleteI honestly agree with all of the child labor standard rules because I believe that there needs to be stipulations in place that protect children from working particular jobs at certain ages, when and how many hours they can work, etc. However, one problem I do have is with the federal minimum wage, and I believe that the government should make the minimum wage closer to an actual “living wage.”
ReplyDeleteI agree that the labor laws are fair because at that point in their lives, education should be a very high concern for them. Sometimes certain situations cause a need for an adolescent to work, and maybe more than the labor law allows, but hopefully another adult or agency can step in and pick up the rest so the adolescent can stay in school and graduate.
ReplyDeleteI 100% agree with child labor laws..I believe that no child should have to work they are of age!
ReplyDeleteI agree with child labor laws in terms of not having them work a lot of hours, so that education comes first, however I believe that today's as well as a lot of my generation have very poor work ethics and should have to hold a job way before they turn of age!!
ReplyDeleteWetzel, your food for thought comment is a very good eye opener and not really sure how I feel about that yet, but I am most certainly thinking about it!
ReplyDelete