Nebraska's Meat Packing Scandal, Round 2

New Arkansas law removes work permit requirement for children under 16

Sponsors of the bill argued that the employment certificate was an unnecessary obstacle, while those opposed expressed concerns about the removal of the only verifying documentation required for child laborers.

"When you take away the permit, it takes away protections that children and families have. When children are not protected, people prey on them," said State Senator Fredrick Love of District 15 (D).

"When you begin to talk about human trafficking, this is where this could be a dangerous situation where you have children—number one, you don't know how old they are—doing unsuitable work for children, and their parents not knowing where they are. That opens up a whole new realm of work—because you don't want 16-year-olds working in strip clubs, you don't want 16-year-olds working in factories where they're putting their lives at risk. I think this bill, Act 195, is a step in the wrong direction in protecting our children," Love said.

 

OSHA finds Mississippi slaughterhouse responsible for death of teen sucked into machinery

A Mississippi slaughterhouse that supplies chicken to Chick-fil-A is directly to blame for the death of a 16-year-old worker who was sucked into equipment in July and killed within minutes, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Tuesday.

OSHA, an agency within the U.S. Labor Department, said that it had cited Georgia-based Mar-Jac Poultry for 14 serious violations and proposed more than $200,000 in fines.

“Mar-Jac Poultry is aware of how dangerous the machinery they use can be when safety standards are not in place to prevent serious injury and death. The company’s inaction has directly led to this terrible tragedy, which has left so many to mourn this child’s preventable death,” OSHA Regional Administrator Kurt Petermeyer said.

Duvan Pérez, the 16-year-old worker, was cleaning the deboning area of the Hattiesburg plant when his hand got caught and his body was pulled into the machinery. OSHA officials say that while a Mar-Jac manager was supervising in and around the area prior to and during the accident, "procedures were not utilized to disconnect power to the machine."

 

Alabama wants to get in on that child labor action.

Alabama Policy Institute releases 2024 Blueprint (alreporter.com)

The right-wing think tank Alabama Policy Institute released its “2024 Blueprint for Alabama” on Monday, setting 30 policy priorities.

These priorities include removing barriers to allow 14- and 15-year-olds to join the labor force, while creating barriers for them to make medical decisions or read library books.

Citing the state’s labor shortage, the Blueprint identifies minor workers as a potential solution, and highlights a requirement that schools submit an “eligibility to work form” as a hindrance to teens joining the labor force. This form requires students to be in good standing with their school, showing sufficient attendance and progress.

The blueprint also suggests minors are being exposed to inappropriate materials in public libraries, and that reforms should be pursued to ensure such content is not available to them, though no specific policies are cited.

 

15 yo roofer dies in Alabama

 

Pro-life state y’all.

 

Teens can get arrested for trying to buy a drink or smoke or for sending a nude pic. They can get charged as adults for some crimes. They can be banned from seeing an R rated movie. They obviously can't vote and don't have a say in the laws. But they're mature enough to work dangerous jobs. Doesn't seem like a great deal to me.

 

Someone should serve time otherwise it is just a cost factor to them

 

$117k for the life of a 15 year old not provided safety gear is abhorrently low

 

With all the lawyers on this board I'm sure someone can tell me if a settlement like this is taxable income for the family.

 

I did not read through the whole article but the description makes it sound like the "settlement" is just a penalty to the US Department of Labor, that would not go to the family as compensation. The family would still have the right to sue independently, but their rights would like to be limited to a degree under Worker's Compensation law. But I know so little in that area. And it would be according to Alabama law.

That's as much as I can tell you

 

That makes way more sense. Thanks

 

It looks like we found at least some of the 85,000 minor migrants that this administration lost track of!

 

There is a podcast called "Fascinating Horror" which just did a program on weird / strange accidents.
Mainly of commercial and industrial Mfg's. Interestingly several of the "spots" were about "lock-out, tag-out"
situations, where of course, the rules were not obeyed. The various "spot" consequences included:

Accidentally getting locked in an industrial furnace when somebody hit the "on switch". The victim was not heard
or seen until the wrong color smoke came belching out - dead

Getting sucked into an industrial sorting machine - dead

Pulling a part off a robotic warehouse storage bin by hand when the robot was approching at very fast speed - dead

Anyway - back on topic -

Chem - I have a question - Just WHERE do Americans think these thousands of illegals entering the country are going? IMO places like Nebraska, to do jobs at a meat packing plant.

Chem - There is a GIGANTIC conspiracy between certain business interests and our political system. It's called - keep the cheap labor coming - and find the loopholes to keep them coming.

Immigration of the last 50 years is a sorry, sordid, disgusting story.
Both sides use the issue for political capital.
Neither side wants to stop it because of the cheap labor.

Why the hell politicians hold Ukraine and even Israel hostage over this crap is so incredibly discouraging.

 

That’s the “fine”, does that even go straight to the family? The number itself obviously seems like a joke.

I assume there would be a civil damages lawsuit, provided there isn’t some tort limits and immunity type deal in that pro-life freedom state (lmao).

 

Kentucky House passes bill that allows teens to work all night long

Kentucky's Republican-dominated House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday to remove state restrictions on child labor, allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to work all night and during school hours.

House Bill 255 repeals Kentucky's state-specific restrictions on employment for 14- to 18-year-olds and removes the power of the state commissioner for workplace standards — part of the governor's administration — to issue regulations to protect children in the workplace.

Supporters said it will be easier for employers to comply with federal law that applies nationwide concerning child labor rather than Kentucky's more restrictive policies, and that removing state restrictions will instill valuable work ethic in teenagers.

Rep. Phil Pratt, R-Georgetown, the owner of a landscaping business, said it's an "economic imperative" to remove "barriers" to teens working because of national "labor crisis."

 

Missouri Republican moves to loosen child labor laws, calls children "lazy"

This week, Missouri state Representative Cheri Toalson Reisch, speaking in favor of a bill that would change a requirement for children under 16 to get a certificate from their school before getting a work permit, said: "At what point are people going to be self-responsible? Some people seem to think the government is the answer to everything."

"These young kids need to be taught self-responsibility," she continued. "And I can tell you my personal story. I started working at age 9. And I continued to work throughout high school when I was 14, 15."

Reisch said having a job did not affect her education and that she graduated from high school early. She added: "You know what these kids of today are? Majority of them are lazy. They don't know what work ethic is. But they know how to play video games all night. They know how to join gangs. They know how to get into trouble. Get a job and be responsible. Vote yes."

 

My brother in laws construction company insurance won’t cover anyone under 18 to use any mechanical tool. So I am guessing no workers comp on a non employee.

 

Self praising her high school grades and early graduation, Rep Reisch made this short speech before the Missouri House about herself. In speaking of the necessity to go to work where her older brother worked, sharing his car and the insurance her parents could not afford, she injected old resentments. Her tone became progressively more strident and tinged with anger as she referenced the "lazy" video game playing teens of today.

I hope she has a good therapist and her arm will be okay after near breaking it patting herself on the back.