Governor Sanders removes regulatory hurdle, enabling a freer market for child labor in Arkansas

essentialsaltes said:

Emails show how a right-wing group steers GOP leaders on major policy issues​

While [MO Sec of State and candidate for governor] Ashcroft positioned himself as a champion for working class voters, emails obtained by CNN and the progressive watchdog group Documented show that he was steered toward adopting his “anti-woke” investment regulation by a little-known, right-wing think tank with deep ties to conservative billionaires. The communications show that officials with the Foundation for Government Accountability suggested regulatory language to Ashcroft and even wrote an op-ed article that Ashcroft published in a national conservative magazine under his own name.

Along with attacking “woke” investing, FGA has worked with legislators and elected officials to push for laws to deregulate child labor, stop Medicaid expansion and slash food stamps, among other initiatives.

FGA enjoys tax-exempt status as a charitable organization. It received more than $44 million from six conservative foundations tied to billionaire donors from 2013 through 2022, the most recent year for which tax records are available.


What's with all these unelected billionaires having such control over politicians?

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essentialsaltes said:

I'm glad we can work together to pass a constitutional amendment overturning the SCOTUS decision in Citizens United.

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essentialsaltes said:

America is divided over major efforts to rewrite child labor laws​

At least 16 states have one or more bills to weaken their child labor laws, while 13 are seeking to strengthen them​

The push for changes to child labor laws arrives as employers — particularly in restaurants and other service-providing industries — have grappled with labor shortages since the beginning of the pandemic, and hired more teenagers whose wages are typically lower than adults’.

Labor experts attribute the spike in child labor violations, which have tripled over the past 10 years according to a Post analysis, to a tight labor market that has prompted employers to hire more teens, as well as migrant children arriving from Latin America.

Most states have laws that are tougher than federal rules, although there is an effort underway led by Republican lawmakers, to undo those restrictions, supported by restaurant associations, liquor associations, and home builders associations.

Indiana’s new law [repeals] all work-hour restrictions for 16- and 17-year-olds, who previously couldn’t work past 10 p.m. or before 6 a.m. on school days. Earlier in March, Indiana enacted the law, which also extends legal work hours for 14- and 15-year-olds.

Indiana legislators sparred over the bill, with state Sen. Mike Gaskill (R) saying at a hearing in March, “do not for a second think that this is about the evil employers trying to manipulate and take advantage of kids.”

[Funny, it's like he's a mind-reader.]

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed into law new changes that allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work seven days in a row. It also removes all hours restrictions for teens in online school or home school, effectively permitting them to work overnight shifts.

Meanwhile, Alabama, West Virginia, Missouri and Georgia are considering bills this year that would eliminate work permit requirements for minors, .... Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) signed a similar bill into law last year. [i.e. the OP]

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Colorado state Rep. Sheila Lieder (D), who introduced the bill [that strengthens protections for child workers], told The Post that Colorado’s child labor laws aren’t punitive enough to dissuade employers from violating child labor laws, with just a $20 penalty per offense.

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essentialsaltes said:

Louisiana lawmakers vote to remove lunch breaks for child workers, cut unemployment benefits​

A House committee approved the bill along with others to reduce unemployment benefits and workers' compensation wages.​

Did they twirl their mustaches as they signed it? What even is this?

First-term state Rep. Roger Wilder, R-Denham Springs, who sponsored the child labor measure and owns Smoothie King franchises across the Deep South, said he filed the bill in part because children want to work without having to take lunch breaks.

One of the kids:

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rambot said:

And utter, utter silence from Republicans. Which is too bad because I would actually be VERY VERY curious to see how they respond to all this stuff. I have to tell you it makes their leads look like represensible human beings.

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FireDragon76 said:

Child labor is demonic. But its not surprising the party of moral hypocrisy is OK advocating for even more brutal forms of child labor.

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essentialsaltes said:

Missouri Republican Moves to Loosen Child Labor Laws, Calls Children 'Lazy'​

This week, Missouri state Representative Cheri Toalson Reisch, speaking in favor of a bill that would change a requirement for children under 16 to get a certificate from their school before getting a work permit, said:

"These young kids need to be taught self-responsibility," she continued. "And I can tell you my personal story. I started working at age 9. And I continued to work throughout high school when I was 14, 15."

Reisch said having a job did not affect her education and that she graduated from high school early. She added: "You know what these kids of today are? Majority of them are lazy. They don't know what work ethic is. But they know how to play video games all night. They know how to join gangs. They know how to get into trouble. Get a job and be responsible. Vote yes."

Those head splitters aren't going to clean themselves.

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essentialsaltes said:

Feds find children working in Mar-Jac Alabama chicken plant, ask court to halt sales​

Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Labor filed a civil action against Mar Jac on May 7 to stop the production and sale of all goods tainted with child labor through May 31.

“On May 1, 2024, investigators with the Wage and Hour Division, U.S. Department of Labor, discovered oppressive child labor at Defendant’s poultry processing facility, namely children working on the kill floor deboning poultry and cutting carcasses,” the court documents said.

Lawyers representing the plant in Jasper say the move is unprecedented and would create undue hardship for more than 1,000 workers at Mar Jac Poultry, the largest employer in Walker County.

The company, which is headquartered in Georgia and has locations in Mississippi and Alabama, received fines of more than $200,000 after a 16-year-old worker in Hattiesburg, Miss., died while cleaning machinery. The teen was pulled into a machine in the deboning area that hadn’t been fully deactivated, according to OSHA.

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Breaking down the Mar-Jac lawsuit for the ‘preventable’ death of 16-year-old Pérez

Attorneys said it could be almost two years before Duvan Pérez’s family faces his former employer, Mar-Jac Poultry, in court.

www.wdam.com