P. M. BRIEFING : Jail Urged in Child Labor Cases
WASHINGTON — A House member called today for mandatory jail terms and fines of up to $100,000 for employers who repeatedly violate child labor laws.
Rep. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said child labor laws need to be overhauled. Schumer, speaking before a House Government Operations subcommittee on employment and housing, called for increasing the civil penalties for child labor violations from $1,000 to $10,000.
He said that between 1987 and 1989 there were 128,000 minors who were injured and an estimated 59 killed in the workplace. Yet 37 employers who were cited for violations relating to those cases were fined a total of only $27,000, he said.
The hearing came a day after Labor Secretary Elizabeth Hanford Dole announced that a three-day sting operation had uncovered 7,000 minors employed in dangerous jobs or working long hours in violation of child labor laws.
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