14-Year-Olds Allowed to Work With Fewer Protections Under New Laws

Alexander Fernandez

Reporter, Life News Today

At least 17 states have passed or advanced laws since 2021 that reduced child labor protections, including eliminating work permit requirements, expanding allowable working hours and loosening restrictions on hazardous jobs, according to legislative bills and state records, including Arkansas House Bill 1410, passed in 2023, Iowa Senate File 542, approved in 2023, and Indiana House Enrolled Act 1039, enacted in 2021, as well as official guidance from the Indiana Department of Labor and publicly released statements from Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Ohio lawmakers during recorded legislative debate.

The changes span multiple states and policy approaches. Arkansas, Indiana and Iowa removed work permit requirements or expanded allowable work hours. Ohio, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Minnesota and South Dakota increased the number of hours minors may work, particularly during the school year or peak business periods. In West Virginia, lawmakers reduced restrictions on certain hazardous occupations for 16 and 17-year-olds. In Alaska, Senate Bill 15 (2023) allowed minors to serve alcohol in licensed establishments under defined conditions. Nebraska adjusted wage rules by creating a lower training wage tier for younger workers. Additional states, including Wisconsin, Missouri, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Michigan, have introduced or advanced legislation to expand youth employment limits or reduce administrative requirements.

 The changes came as federal enforcement data showed child labor violations had risen sharply over the past decade. According to the United States Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, the number of minors employed has increased from 1,012 in 2015 to 5,272 in 2025, representing more than a fivefold increase. Over the same period, the number of cases involving child labor violations also rose, with 976 cases recorded in 2025 compared with 542 in 2015. The Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C., that focuses on labor markets, wages, and employment conditions, reports a 283% increase in child labor law violations over the past 10 years, while violations involving hazardous occupations nearly doubled during the same period. Federal enforcement agencies have also reported continued acceleration in recent years. Between 2019 and 2024, the Labor Department identified a 31% increase in children employed in violation of federal law, reflecting both increased enforcement activity and a growing number of violations uncovered across industries.

Minors re-entering the workforce and changes to youth labor protections followed disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which upended supply chains and workplaces nationwide. In 2020, millions of workers left jobs or moved across industries while workforce participation failed to recover at the same pace as job openings. By 2021, lawmakers in multiple states began advancing youth employment reforms on a scale not seen in decades, revisiting labor protections first established under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law on June 25, 1938.

The Fair Labor Standards Act established minimum working ages, restricted hazardous occupations and limited hours for minors. The law followed decades of industrial-era labor practices in which children worked long hours in factories, mines and mills, often under dangerous conditions. Reform efforts in the early 20th century helped produce federal standards designed to keep children in school and out of hazardous workplaces, creating a baseline that remained largely intact until recent state-level changes introduced new variations in how youth labor is regulated. Governor Kim Reynolds (R-Iowa) said when signing legislation expanding youth employment provisions that the law would provide “tailored, common sense labor provisions that allow young adults to develop their skills in the workforce,” adding “there is dignity in work [allowing youths] to earn and save to build a better life.”

State Senator Catherine Ingram (D-Ohio) said during debate over youth work-hour expansion, “I think it’s a good thing,” while cautioning lawmakers that they should not “take advantage of the fact that these are 14 and 15-year-olds,” Ingram said during the 2023 legislative session discussing Senate Bill 30, a piece of legislation aimed at expanding the number of hours minors ages 14 and 15 can work during the school year. State Senator Bill Reineke (R-Ohio), a co-sponsor of the legislation, supported expanding youth employment as part of the 2023 debate over Senate Bill 30. The exchange reflected a broader policy debate in which lawmakers considered workforce needs alongside concerns about protections for minors. Ohio lawmakers moved to allow younger teens to work later into the evening during the school year with parental consent.

Since 2021, legislatures in states including Arkansas, Indiana and Iowa have introduced and, in many cases, passed measures that adjusted or removed long-standing safeguards. Bill sponsor Representative Rebecca Burkes (R-Ark.) argued during debate that the state’s youth employment permit system was unnecessary, describing it as “outdated and bureaucratic” and saying it reflected policies from more than a century ago. The law removed the requirement that children under 16 obtain work permits, eliminating a layer of verification and state-level oversight.

Indiana eliminated work permits in 2021 and revised youth labor rules to allow broader work hours. According to Indiana’s Department of Labor, 16- and 17-year-olds may now work the same hours as adults, and employers are no longer required to provide meal or rest breaks to minors regardless of hours worked. New Jersey and New Hampshire increased allowable work hours for teens, particularly during peak business periods such as summer months, while Minnesota and South Dakota passed similar expansions that lengthened permissible work schedules.

Wage structures also shifted as Nebraska approved a lower training wage tier for younger workers, allowing employers to pay minors less than the standard minimum wage for a defined period. The change modifies the wage structure for youth employment under state law. Younger workers can legally be paid less and are less likely to have access to benefits or long-term employment protections, which may affect hiring patterns in industries such as food service, agriculture and seasonal work.

The rollback trend coincided with a rise in violations. Federal data show more minors working illegally, including in hazardous industries such as manufacturing, food processing and construction, increasing scrutiny of enforcement. The Fair Labor Standards Act remains, but enforcement relies on investigations, employer reporting and available resources. As violations increased, some states reduced oversight tools such as work permits and tracking systems, leaving fewer mechanisms to monitor youth employment as demand for workers grew. Federal enforcement actions have also documented cases involving hazardous child labor across multiple industries. A 2023 investigation by the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that Packers Sanitation Services Inc. employed at least 102 minors ages 13 to 17 at 13 meat processing facilities in eight states, where they used hazardous chemicals and cleaned equipment prohibited under federal law, according to a department enforcement release. The agency assessed $1,544,076 in civil penalties, the maximum allowed under federal law.

According to a Feb. 17, 2023, United States Department of Labor enforcement release, at least three minors were injured while working for Packers Sanitation Services Inc. Investigators found the children were using hazardous chemicals and cleaning equipment including back saws, brisket saws and head splitters. The filing states that interviews confirmed workers, including minors, suffered serious chemical burns from the cleaners used in the plants. It describes injuries including chemical burns to the face and notes that a 13-year-old minor employee sustained serious burns. Workers cleaned processing areas with high-pressure washers, steaming hot water and a highly caustic cleaner, KC-568, which contained 12.5% sodium hypochlorite.

Federal investigators tied those injuries directly to the equipment minors were assigned to clean. The minors worked overnight shifts cleaning dangerous powered machinery and sharp meat-processing tools, including saws and other high-risk equipment prohibited under federal law. Documented injuries include serious chemical burns and exposure to hazardous machinery barred for underage workers.

The following year, federal investigators filed a complaint against Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama LLC, SMART Alabama LLC and Best Practice Service LLC after finding that a 13-year-old worked up to 50 to 60 hours per week forming metal auto parts on an assembly line in violation of child labor laws. The department alleged the companies jointly employed the minor through a staffing arrangement and sought court action to stop the violations and recover profits tied to the use of child labor.

The investigation continued in 2025, when the Labor Department identified similar violations in poultry processing. Investigators found that Perdue Farms and a staffing agency jointly employed minors at a Virginia facility, where children used equipment including electric knives and heat-sealing presses and worked beyond legally permitted hours. The agreement required more than $4 million in payments, including $150,000 in civil penalties by Perdue and $125,000 by the staffing agency, along with restitution and compliance measures.

Federal child labor law remained unchanged as states revised youth employment rules. Although 2026 Department of Labor data has not yet been released, federal investigations continued to document minors working in prohibited roles across multiple industries as violations increased. Those developments marked a shift in how youth labor was regulated and enforced.