Provisions of New York State Law Regarding Child Labor
Current provisions of New York State employment laws have taken
actions to protect the working conditions of children. These necessary
actions should further prevent any mistreatment of child laborers from
recurring, as it did at the time of the Industrial Revolution. The
dire conditions under which many children were forced to work were
hazardous to their health and emotional well-being.
As early as the age of 5, children tended the machinery in factories
and helped mine coal. The tobacco industry employed thousands of
children under 10 to make tobacco products. This also was the same for
the children involved in silk spinning, artificial flower making,
oyster shucking, berry picking, canning, and shrimp packing. In
England under the English Poor Law, local government officials
arranged for orphans to become apprentices so that they would learn a
trade and be cared for. Oftentimes, these "pauper" children were
turned over to a mill owner, instead, where they had little or no
care. A child could also be indentured-their parents sold their labor
to the mill owner for a certain number of years. Many child laborers
worked for wages, as adults did, under hard conditions and for long
hours. Whereas the maximum amount of hours nowadays for a 12-year old
to be able to work on a farm is four hours, at the time of the
Industrial Revolution, work shifts could last all day. Federal law
requires only that children under 16 may not be employed in
agriculture during school hours.
Aside from children having to work long, hard hours, the conditions
under which they worked were horrendous....
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... up standards for minors that differ between school days and
non-school days. It also established a time limit of how many hours a
minor can work. These proceedings are obligatory for all employed
minors, as they ensure their safety and well-being.
The New York State employment laws have taken actions to protect the
working conditions of children by establishing a maximum amount of
hours, ensuring that minors can only have safe occupations, setting
certain times that minors are allowed to work, and guaranteeing that
they cannot work during school hours. These requisite measures should
put a stop to any mistreatment of child laborers, and it is promised
that children possessing any form of employment will not have to
suffer from the circumstances with which many children their age had
to deal a century or two earlier.
Children as young as young as five or seven years old worked in dangerous factories. Many times if the children fell asleep while on the job, they would slip and get stuck in the machines, resulting in death. Child labor in the late 1800’s was very unsafe and put the lives of young children in danger. The children worked in very dangerous conditions, most of the time it was factories. The conditions were very poor, the factories were dirty and unsafe for children. The children would work for up to sixteen hours with little to no pay.
In 1900, there were 1.75 million child workers in the United States alone, that was 18 percent of all American workers at the time. In southern cotton mills 25 percent of the employees were below the age of fifteen, with half of them being below the age of 3 (History.com). Child Labor is the the use of children in industry or business when considered illegal or inhumane. Child Labor is a social issue that was at its peak during the Industrial Revolution and still occurs today, but has declined drastically over the years due to the unions against it and laws put in affect.
“Child labor is work that harms children or keeps them from attending school.” Back then in the U.S., children were working between ages 5 to 17. Between the 1800s and 1900s, many children worked in agricultural fields, fishing, mining, manufacturing, and even drug trade and prostitution. Even though child labor laws are still avoided around the world, the effects on child labor in the US, before, was unbelieveable. Children were suffering from health issues, reform movements grew and other countries followed enforced child labor too.
even to work on a farm, you need to have quite a lot of skill. The
Within months of the arrival of the early settlers on American soil, they were faced with the bitter cold of winter. These settlers were unprepared for winter. They were still in the process of building their houses, they had not gathered enough food to survive through the season, and they had no means of keeping warm during these dangerous months. Many of the early settlers died during these harsh cold months. With so many dead the use of child labor was necessary to survive for the colonist. In American history, this is often the case. In extreme times, when parents are unable to provide for their children on their own, the use of child labor is often
Throughout time children have worked myriad hours in hazardous workplaces in order to make a few cents to a few dollars. This is known as child labor, where children are risking their lives daily for money. Today child labor continues to exist all over the world and even in the United States where children pick fruits and vegetables in difficult conditions. According to the article, “What is Child Labor”; it states that roughly 215 million children around the world are working between the ages of 5 and 17 in harmful workplaces. Child labor continues to exist because many families live in poverty and with more working hands there is an increase in income. Other families take their children to work in the fields because they have no access to childcare and extra money is beneficial to buy basic needs. Although there are laws and regulations that protect children from child labor, stronger enforcement is required because child labor not only exploits children but also has detrimental effects on a child’s health, education, and the people of the nation.
What is Child Labor?Child Labor is work that harms children or keeps them from attending school. Around the world and in the U.S., growing gaps between rich and poor in recent decades have forced millions of young children out of school and into work. It is estimated that 215 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 are currently working under conditions that are considered illegal, hazardous, or extremely exploitative.1 Underage children work many different types of jobs that included commercial agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, mining, and domestic services. Some children were involved in illicit activities that included drug trade, prostitution, and other traumatic occupations that included serving as soldiers. Child Labor involved threatening children’s physical, mental, or emotional well- being. It involved intolerable abuse, such as slavery, child trafficking, debt bondage, forced labor or illicit activities and prevented children from going to school.
Close your eyes and imagine this... It’s 1899 in New York City, girls you are outside drying clothes or working in a sewing factory, guys you are out on the streets selling newspapers for a penny a paper. You are wearing a ragged coat because that is your only source of warmth from the bitter cold of NYC. You’re covered in dirt because you cannot afford to have good hygiene. Child labor was not illegal in the 1800’s so children are forced to work to the bone in order to eat because they are on their own. Their parents could not afford having them live with them and eating their food. Think about it… If this was you then, your own parents couldn’t afford have you with them. Over 30,000 children were orphaned in New York City during the late
Then, during the progressive era, child labor laws was banned, safety and liability laws were put in factories after they ignored them. The sanitation in homes was very terrible it caused diseases like such as tuberculosis, cholera and yellow fever. The progressives used sanitary reforms to improve public health and health conditions of tenements. They also used literature like How the other Half lives by Jacob Riis. Reformers needed to clean streets and make sure residents were all
Child Labour In the past few years, a great deal of attention has been drawn to the global problem of child labour. Virtually everyone is guilty of participating in this abusive practice through the purchase of goods made in across the globe, usually in poor, developing nations. This issue has been around for a great length of time but has come to the forefront recently because of reports that link well known American companies like Wal-Mart and Nike to the exploitation of children. Prior to this media attention, many Americans and other people in developed nation were blind to the reality of the oppressive conditions that are reality to many.
In the 1890-1920s, America went through rapid urbanization and industrialization. This was called the Progressive Era. This Era advanced in technology, science, and economic development. This fast development led to Child Labor. Children at the age of 5 are forced to start work in unsafe conditions like factories, and mining, to support their families. Another problem was the Meat Industry, Since America is rapidly growing fast cities demanded large quantities of food. Food manufacturers would prepare their food poorly and hire chemist’s to hide to preserve food or the smell of freshness with unsafe chemicals. Child Labor and Meat Industry issues led to people to the progressive movement and to fight for the sake of their people.
In the late 1700’s and early 1800’s big business began to boom. For the first time companies were developing large factories to manufacture their goods. Due to the new mechanics and cheap labor, factory owners could now produce their goods at a cheaper rate. As big businesses brought wealth and capitalism, it also widened the gap between the wealthy elite and the poor. One class in particular was horribly affected by the growth of big factories. This class was the poor working class. According to the article “Child Labor in the United States” written by Robert Whaples, a big proportion of the labour work force was made up of children: “In 1820 children aged 15 and under made up 23 percent of the manufacturing labor force of the industrializing
Child labor refers to work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; interferes with their schooling by depriving them of the opportunity to attend school; obliging them to leave school prematurely or by requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work (International Labor Organization). Child labor has been a big problem ever since the Victorian Era. Many counties worldwide have used and still to this day use child labor. Though there are many laws that have been implemented against using children to work, many countries tend to ignore them. In my paper I will be discussing countries where child labor is present, push to stop child labor, companies that use child labor, the effects on children, and the reasons for child labor.
The next time when you are out on your shopping trip, chances you may have support a business that exploits children. It is very disturbing and heartbreaking to learn many children are chained to looms for 12 hours a day because families need to have their child bringing home a small amount of moneys. Child labor has always been a difficult subject to address, the topic have become much more complicated and prolific.
Child Labor In the world today, there are many different types of illegal human trafficking. Some examples are sex trafficking, mail-order brides, and child labor. Child labor is when any children under the age of 18 are coerced into labor by an employer, regardless of physical restraints. This horrendous crime of forcing kids to work can happen anywhere in the world, from Asia, to Africa, even to America.