Hi there,

I’m writing to you today to talk about child labor.

It may seem like an issue that we settled decades ago, but a new Department of Labor study found a 69% increase in the number of children working in violation of federal labor laws.

The findings in that study have been backed up by reporting from NBC News and The New York Times.

This comes as some states, like Arkansas, have actually loosened their child labor laws to make it easier for children to work long hours and overnight shifts.

This is wrong. Not only are these companies putting children in danger by working them long hours and overnight shifts, they’re making it much more difficult for those kids to stay in school and get the education they need to succeed in the future.

We should be doing everything in our power to make it easier for our children to thrive, not harder.

And it comes as no surprise that migrant children are much more likely to be working, and working in unsafe conditions.

These children have already endured horrific trauma in making the perilous journey to the United States, and now unsafe and illegal labor practices are putting them in harm’s way once again.

So along with Senator John Hickenlooper of Colorado, I sent a letter to the CEOs of some of America’s largest corporations, including Target, General Mills, and JBS Foods demanding they respond to the report that says they’re employing children in violation of federal labor law.

Here’s what we asked:

1. Please detail the actions your company has taken to ensure compliance with child labor laws at your workplace(s) and educate your workforce on child labor laws.
2. What processes has your company adopted to vet prospective and current workers with respect to confirming their official age and other verifying information?
3. If your company uses third-party contractors for any of your labor functions, which auditing processes have you implemented to ensure the contractors’ compliance with federal labor laws?
1. If in process, when do you anticipate the auditing processes to be fully implemented?
4. With respect to the employment of minors, how has your company worked to educate your workforce, local educational agencies, and the broader community about the dangers of unlawful child labor and your company’s compliance with federal labor laws?
5. How are you ensuring that migrants are aware of their rights in the workplace?
6. Are you working with school districts where your plants are located to coordinate that minors are only working longer hours when there are school breaks?

I’m disgusted to see some of our nation’s largest and wealthiest corporations take advantage of immigrant children simply for profit.

I’ll keep you updated as we hear more.

- Alex Padilla

Paid For By Alex Padilla for Senate

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