HB 4005 increases risk for West Virginia’s working children. The legislation largely eliminates state-level protections defining hazardous occupations too dangerous for all minors to work in. In addition, the bill eliminates state-level protections limiting the time children can work with dangerous machinery, as well as requirements for direct supervision of dangerous work.
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Minors are more likely than adults to be injured or killed on the job. Federal law prohibits minors from working in a list of jobs that have been deemed too dangerous for this group based on the fatal injury rate for adults in these occupations. Striking the protections currently enshrined in state law will take West Virginia backward on its commitment to protecting working children and will increase the risk of minors being injured or killed on the job.
Child labor law violations are on the rise across the country, and federal child labor protections are at serious risk of being eroded. West Virginia should prioritize protecting and advancing workers’ rights, including by strengthening child labor protections, not further weakening them to give employers—including unscrupulous ones—greater access to cheap labor.
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