Name: Anonymous 2011-02-16 18:37
The St. Louis Beacon ran an interesting piece Feb. 15 regarding State Sen. Jane Cunningham of St. Louis County. She sponsors a bill in the current session of the General Assembly which revokes any oversight of child labor laws in the state.
Senate Bill 222 eliminates the prohibition of employing children under the age of fourteen. It also removes restrictions on the number of hours worked during the week and when those hours happen. Even worse, the bill also removes Missouri's Division of Labor Standards from inspecting workplaces to make sure they are safe for children.
As a parent of two teenagers, I am left scratching my head at this proposal. Cunningham, a Republican, gives more insight to her motive with the interview she gave to the Beacon.
"My aim is to put back some common sense. We're not doing students any favor by telling them, 'You cannot work,'" Cunningham said.
Cunningham claims many parents and their children are already violating the current labor laws but she offered no statistics to back up her claim. She uses her own parenting example as to what should happen with everyone else's children in Missouri. Cunningham feels current laws are "over the top" and prevent parents from teaching children to work hard.
Sauce: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110216/tr_ac/7870992_missouri_senator_scrutinizes_over_the_top_child_labor_laws
Senate Bill 222 eliminates the prohibition of employing children under the age of fourteen. It also removes restrictions on the number of hours worked during the week and when those hours happen. Even worse, the bill also removes Missouri's Division of Labor Standards from inspecting workplaces to make sure they are safe for children.
As a parent of two teenagers, I am left scratching my head at this proposal. Cunningham, a Republican, gives more insight to her motive with the interview she gave to the Beacon.
"My aim is to put back some common sense. We're not doing students any favor by telling them, 'You cannot work,'" Cunningham said.
Cunningham claims many parents and their children are already violating the current labor laws but she offered no statistics to back up her claim. She uses her own parenting example as to what should happen with everyone else's children in Missouri. Cunningham feels current laws are "over the top" and prevent parents from teaching children to work hard.
Sauce: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110216/tr_ac/7870992_missouri_senator_scrutinizes_over_the_top_child_labor_laws