Third Teen Worker Killed In Industrial Accident As States Try To Loosen Child Labor Laws
Third Teen Worker Killed In Industrial Accident As States Try To Loosen Child Labor Laws
A 16-year-old boy’s death in Mississippi comes weeks after two other minors recently died on the job in Missouri and Wisconsin.
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It seems strange to me that the framing of this is all about child labor laws--no one should have died working at any of these jobs, regardless of age--and OSHA is investigating all three incidents
They are framing it about child labor because a child died.
Who/What agency is investigating the death is not relevant to the fact that a child died while working in an industrial setting.
They are framing it the way they are because they do not think that children, or teens, should be legally able to work in these kinds of settings.
AND 2 other people have been killed at that same damn plant since 2020! How is OSHA not up their ass before this even happened.
How is OSHA not up their ass before this even happened.
They're wildly underfunded and understaffed.
And when they DO actually try to enforce, there's generally pressure from the top to "go light" and give the company a chance to amend their procedure (at least until after the next inspection) rather than charging them with manslaughter or whatever.
Part of the reason it that they died is probably related to being young, dumb and inexperienced.
The article points out:
The number of minors employed in violation of child labor laws has increased by 37% within the last year, according to a March report by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute in Washington. The report identified 10 states that have introduced or passed bills within the last two years that would weaken child labor standards.
Adults tend to be less reckless around dangerous equipment, yet companies are increasingly breaking the law hiring underage workers leading to these types of accidents. The article highlights the trend of these inexperienced teenagers being hired to work jobs that have danger closer than they expect, loosening child labour laws a factor among that.
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