Protecting Working Youth Should be a Priority
Child Labor Coalition Report Criticizes U.S. Labor Department’s Child Labor Enforcement: One Investigator For Every 140,435 Working Youth
October 16, 2006
Contact: NCL Communications
202-835-3323
media@nclnet.org
Washington, DC—The Child Labor Coalition (CLC) has delivered a report to the International Labour Organization in Geneva, criticizing the U.S. Government for its indifference to protecting working children in light of its purported compliance with an international child labor treaty.
Based on data that were acquired by the CLC from the U.S. Labor Department (DOL) under the Freedom of Information Act, the CLC report, Protecting Working Children in the United States: The Government’s Striking Decline in Child Labor Enforcement Activities, shows a persistent decade of decline in child labor enforcement and penalties, with a marked decrease over this last fiscal year:
- 31.5 percent decline in the number of child labor investigations in comparing fiscal years 2004 and 2005. The 1,784 child labor investigations in fiscal year 2005 represent the lowest number of investigations in the last decade.
- 20.2 percent decline in time DOL spends conducting child labor investigations in comparing fiscal years 2004 and 2005. In person hours, the 2005 figure represents the equivalent of 23 full time employees.
- Only 9.2 percent of the maximum penalty allowed was assessed against employers who violated child labor laws in fiscal year 2005. During that time period, the average civil money penalty assessed per violation was $1,011 – while the maximum penalty allowed under law is $11,000 per violation.
The CLC warns the public that there are inadequate protections and oversight in place to protect youth at work. As the government continues its lackluster enforcement, youth continue to be injured in the workplace – at a level of some 230,000 injuries a year.
This month, the CLC forwarded a copy of the report to the International Labour Organization headquarters in Geneva, questioning whether the United States is in compliance with ILO Convention 182, which calls for immediate action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labor. The United States ratified the convention more than six years ago.
The CLC report is the second in a series, following a June 2005 report, Protecting Working Children in the United States: Is the Government’s Indifference to the Safety and Health of Working Children Violating an International Treaty? Both reports are available at www.stopchildlabor.org.
About the Child Labor Coalition
The Child Labor Coalition is a group of more than 40 organizations, representing consumers, labor unions, educators, human rights and labor rights groups, child advocacy groups, and religious and women’s groups. It was established in 1989, and is co-chaired by the National Consumers League and the American Federation of Teachers. It’s mission is to protect working youth and to promote legislation, programs, and initiatives to end child labor exploitation in the United States and abroad.
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