Library of Congress photo and description:   "Manuel, the young shrimp-picker, five years old, and a mountain of child-labor oyster shells behind him. He worked last year (1911). Understands not a word of English. Dunbar, Lopez, Dukate Company. Location: Biloxi, Mississippi." photographer Lewis Wickes Hine, 1874-1940,

Is child labor an egregious business practice of the past, where children work long hours without breaks or work in hazardous conditions?  

No.  It continues today, in 2025. 

Consider the following quotes from the Department of Labor website: 

"Since 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor has seen an 88 percent increase nationwide in children employed illegally. In fiscal year 2023, federal investigators identified 955 child labor violations nationwide with 5,792 children at risk – including 502 working in hazardous occupations illegally – and assessed more than $8 million in penalties for employers found in violation." 

"In fiscal year 2024, we concluded 736 investigations that found child labor violations, a 23% decrease from the previous year. We found 4,030 children employed in violation of the law, a 31% increase since 2019, and assessed more than $15.1 million in penalties, an 89% increase from the previous year."

The violations include children under 18 working six days a week, running hazardous machinery such as meat-processing machines, 14-year-olds driving forklifts or vehicles, and breaks only if the child works an eight-hour shift. 

According to the EPI (Economic Policy Institute), six states have tried to weaken child labor laws, but advocates are fighting back.   The Guardian reported that in March 2025, the Trump administration abolished US funding for nearly 70 programs that fought to end trafficking and child labor in other countries.

The lure of cheap child labor is greater than ever.  

Find your cause and fight back.

CD Burr

This essay also appears on CD Burr's Writer Blog

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