Missouri State Senator Jane Cunningham took a lot of heat this month for introducing a bill to gut child labor laws in that state.
the bill’s own official summary decribes it thus(emphasis added by Think Progress):
This act modifies the child labor laws. It eliminates the prohibition on employment of children under age fourteen. Restrictions on the number of hours and restrictions on when a child may work during the day are also removed. It also repeals the requirement that a child ages fourteen or fifteen obtain a work certificate or work permit in order to be employed. Children under sixteen will also be allowed to work in any capacity in a motel, resort or hotel where sleeping accommodations are furnished. It also removes the authority of the director of the Division of Labor Standards to inspect employers who employ children and to require them to keep certain records for children they employ. It also repeals the presumption that the presence of a child in a workplace is evidence of employment.
She has since removed the controversial bill from consideration but, according to Think Progress, Ms. Cunningham is not alone in her zeal to roll back worker rights and protections:
In a lengthy lecture delivered before his election to the U.S. Senate, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) praises a discredited 1918 Supreme Court decision declaring child labor laws unconstitutional. That decision, which Lee holds out a model for his tenther vision of the Constitution, was unanimously overruled by the Supreme Court in 1941.The tea party agenda can be summed up in a single word: Regression.
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