States ‘irresponsible’ in loosening youth work rules, Labor Dept. says

Recent moves in some states to loosen child worker protections are “irresponsible” and make it easier to hire children for dangerous work, the Labor Department’s top attorney said Thursday.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a rising Republican star, on Tuesday signed legislation into law that eliminated age verification requirements for youth workers younger than 16 years old. A similar proposal is advancing in Missouri. Iowa legislators are considering a bill that would allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work certain jobs in meatpacking plants and shield businesses from civil liability if a child laborer is sickened, injured or killed on the job. A bill in Minnesota would permit 16- and 17-year-olds to work construction jobs.