What a vote for a Republican legislator means for your child’s safety in the workplace

Even as children and teens find themselves placed in dangerous situations, Wisconsin GOP lawmakers want to eliminate what’s left of protection, oversight, and accountability.

When it comes to child labor laws—something Wisconsin Republicans repeatedly try to weaken—a photo from Arkansas may best illustrate how the young workers of the future feel about the issue.

In March 2023, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a bill weakening child labor laws in her state. While signing another bill on education standards, a photo shows her surrounded by a dozen children at her desk. The governor was smiling. The adults in the background were smiling. But every child’s expression looked like they’d been signed up for minimum wage assignments that even Mike Rowe wouldn’t do for his “Dirty Jobs” television show.

By eliminating a one-page form—in the name of “streamlining” government—it became easier for that state’s employers to exploit 14-year-old employees—or perhaps even younger, since the state would no longer require verification of age.

Last week, court records revealed the US Department of Labor was investigating Tyson Foods for possibly employing Arkansas children as young as 11 on the overnight shift of a chicken processing plant, working in potentially hazardous conditions.

In Wisconsin, Rep. Clint Moses (R-Menomonie) authored a similar rollback of state approval before a company could hire someone as young as age 14.

“If a teenager wants a job, they should be able to apply to a job and start working,” testified Moses to a legislative committee, two months after Arkansas changed their rules.

“The bill gets rid of a piece of paper—not safety or accountability,” said Sen. Cory Tomczyk (R-Mosinee).

Having a job in high school “teaches you about time management and the value of a dollar,” testified Brian Sikma of Opportunity Solutions Project, the lobbying arm for a right-wing interest group, Foundation for Government Accountability. 

The tax-dark money group is funded by ultraconservative donors including some with Wisconsin connections like billionaires Richard and Liz Uihlein and the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation. It enjoys tax-exempt status as a “charitable organization.” 

FGA pushed for child labor law changes in Arkansas, Iowa, and Wisconsin as a way to address America’s labor shortage by letting children work in more hazardous situations and for longer hours on school nights. The group has also advocated laws to block access to anti-poverty programs and fought against expanding Medicaid health insurance coverage to lower-income working families. To advance its agenda, according to a CNN investigation, FGA advises politicians on adopting an “anti-woke” stance on social issues—since candidates might face a tougher election running on a platform of scrapping child labor protections.

The bill rolling back work permits and parental approval for 14- and 15-year-olds passed the Republican-dominated Wisconsin Legislature but was vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers.

“Growing up, it shouldn’t be worrying about getting injured on the job, or receiving a fair wage for their work, or being taken advantage of,” Evers said shortly before the signing. “It’s time that Republicans get real about the real pressing challenges, and I’ve put them on notice.”

Moses would also try to rescue a bill introduced by other Republicans that would have allowed children to serve liquor at age 14. Amidst the backlash, Moses offered an amendment changing the minimum age to 16, but the bill failed to pass.

Deadly Teen Jobs Made Possible by GOP

Any discussion about child labor laws in Wisconsin will likely include the June 2023 death of Michael Schuls, 16, at the Florence Hardwoods sawmill. The US Department of Labor fined the mill nearly $1.4 million after an investigation showed Schuls—who was crushed trying to unjam a lumber stacking machine—was one of nine teens, ages 14 to 17, working at the mill, sometimes using saws and automated equipment despite a law setting the minimum age at 18. Three other teens had also been injured in mishaps at the sawmill.

Then-Gov. Scott Walker signed a Republican bill in 2017 that eliminated work permit requirements for 16- and 17-year-olds. The bill also removed the term “child labor” from state law and replaced it with “employment of minors.” Six of the bill’s supporters are still in the Legislature and seeking reelection: Sen. Joan Ballweg, Sen. Duey Stroebel, Rep. Shannon Zimmerman, Rep. Jessie Rodriguez, Rep. Travis Tranel, and Rep. Pat Snyder.

Critics then and now say the measure eliminated accountability to ensure employers would not exploit young workers. 

Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison) said this kind of legislation demonstrates “an absolute erosion of our willingness to help protect kids.”

The Labor Department said child labor violations rose 88% between 2019 and 2023, according to reporting by the Wisconsin Examiner, and is hard to detect because federal and state funding for enforcement is “grossly insufficient.”

“The full scope of the problem is not yet known,” according to the report, “because numerous obstacles prevent these cases from being reported or coming to light, including fear of employer retaliation, lack of knowledge about workplace laws, distrust of government agencies, language access issues, and more.” 

Closer to home, the Wisconsin Dept. of Workforce Development showed 111 complaints about child labor issues in 2022, more than the three previous years combined, according to reporting by the CapTimes.

Along with Moses and Tomczyk, the vetoed bill that would have removed work permit requirements for 14- and 15-year-olds had several other supporters who are seeking reelection next month: Reps. Amy Binsfeld and Bob Donovan as well as Rep. Snyder, Rodriguez, Tranel, and Sens. Ballweg and Stroebel.

Prior to introducing that bill in 2023, Moses, Tomczyk, and Sen. Dan Feyen attended a two-day FGA meeting in Nashville, TN. Moses later reported having accepted a trip worth nearly $700 and a nearly $1,200 “honorarium” from the group. Moses told PBS Wisconsin the conference centered on cutting access to Medicaid and other benefits as a way to force people back into the labor force, despite Wisconsin having record low unemployment. A few months later, FGA gave him a “Legislative Champion” award. Binsfeld, as a bill co-sponsor, was given their “Rising Star” award.

FGA is part of a large group of right-wing organizations that contributed to the writing of Project 2025, a conservative road map for Republicans, if they win a trifecta of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives. 

Project 2025 has become a lightning rod, generating nationwide criticism and providing fodder for progressives like Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, who told a Labor Day rally in Milwaukee about how the document has proposals that harm all employees, whatever their age.

“Somebody said, ‘What’s next? Child labor?’ Hell, yeah. It’s in there,” Walz said. “You see states doing that, putting our children at risk. That’s what they’ll do.”

When Walz was named Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, social media was flooded with a photographic study in contrasts—an image of Huckabee Sanders and the gloomy children around her alongside a picture of Walz, beaming as nearly a dozen children enveloped him a group hug after he signed a bill making school lunches and breakfasts free for every child.