Republicans and Child welfare......or not.
https://news.yahoo.com/sarah-huckabe...170820213.html
Sarah Huckabee Sanders Paves Way for Child Labor Exploitation
The law means the state will no longer have to verify the age of children under 16 before they take a job, which means 14- and 15-year-olds would be able to work without a special permit. The state’s Republican-controlled Senate voted 24-9 last Thursday to send the bill to the governor’s desk. “There is no reason that anyone should have to get the government’s permission to get a job,” said state Sen. Clint Penzo, who sponsored the bill.
The new law comes as the Biden administration promised to crack down on child labor violations days after a New York Times investigation exposed the extent to which migrant children are employed in dangerous jobs across the United States. Child labor violations have quadrupled since 2015, according to data from the Department of Labor.
Arkansas isn’t the only state that wants to make it easier for employers to hire children. Iowa, Ohio, and Minnesota are also considering bills that would loosen restrictions. The bill in Iowa would allow 14-year-olds to work in meatpacking plants. The Department of Labor announced last month that Packers Sanitation Services had paid $1.5 million in fines for illegally employing over 100 children to clean meatpacking plants on overnight shifts.