Releases

With his proclamation that current child labor laws are "truly stupid," GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has cast a light on an emotionally charged issue complicated by a patchwork of regulations. Originally designed to protect Industrial Revolution-era children from working long hours for pennies, the federal government created the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The act is still in effect today, but some have called for a reassessment of FLSA regulations as well as the various child labor laws that each state has enacted. "Permitting teens to work for lower than minimum wage is being proposed as an answer to jobs going overseas for cheaper wages, and as an answer to the myth of adolescence. However, these proposed changes focus on age alone and not intellect or ability," says employment attorney Neil Martin of the Houston office of Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP. "You have to balance protecting young workers and allowing them to become productive members of society and that is neither simple nor evident." For more information, contact Rhonda Reddick at 800-559-4534 or rhonda@androvett.com.