Human Rights at Home and Abroad: Past, Present, and Future

called the Fair Labor Standards Act(FLSA)(youth and labor). The FLSA controls minimum wage, hours
worked, and they make sure companies keep records of their workers. Due to the FLSA, the United States
allows children of the age sixteen and up to have a part time job as long as they are not missing any
school. According to child labor laws in America, children under the age of sixteen are not allowed to
work, or to get paid for working. The FLSA also makes sure children that are working are being trained
properly and working safely (Wage and Hour Division). There are many different types of child labor and
the only type of labor children are allowed to do younger than sixteen is dealing with agriculture, like
working on a family farm.
When a child works on a farm, there are a few exemptions from the FLSA. If one is sixteen or
older they may do anything they would like on the farm whether it is considered dangerous or not (Farm
Jobs). If one is between the ages of fourteen and fifteen, they may do anything that is considered non-
hazardous, as long as they are not missing any school (Farm Jobs). A child who is twelve or thirteen can
work on a farm as long as they have their parents‘ consent. If a child is under the age of twelve one may
only work on one‘s family farm and must be supervised a majority of the time (Farm Jobs).
In 2008, a family in Michigan, was found having their children work on their farms picking
blueberries from sun up to sun down. Since it is legal for children to work on their family farms, nothing
could be done. However, the dangers of the children working were very risky for their health. The ages of
the children ranged from four years to fourteen years old. According to one of the children working,
Ethan, age 8, states, "The tractor's coming from here and the kids are right there. They could poison
themselves because it's too dangerous for them". He is referring to the pesticides that were made to apply
to the fruit. They were so powerful and the children were so close to the toxins given off by them, that
they were in danger, which made him nervous for his younger siblings. Although he was in the middle of
the age group, he was considered a ―big kid‖ to the younger ones and he sometimes felt responsible for
when they were to get sick (ABC). Many of the children told ABC News reporters that the sun was so hot
all day that it made them feel sick, but it was their job to help their family make money. (ABC). About a
month or two later, another family was found, in North Carolina, with the same issues. The Association of
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