Child Labor Bill

Long-awaited Child Labor Bill Past Governor's Desk
Romney Signs Historic Teen Protections into Law

In his final few hours as Massachusetts Governor on Wednesday night, Mitt Romney signed into law a bill that will strengthen the state's Child Labor laws for the first time in nearly 70 years and bolster workplace protections for 300,000 young workers statewide. House Bill 4638 simplifies the work permit process while giving the Attorney General power to prosecute violating employers in civil court, thus increasing the likelihood the Child Labor Laws will be respected.

"If a boss knows nothing's going to happen, why would he obey the law?" asked 17-year-old Veronica Monteiro. Monteiro is a peer leader in the group Teens Lead @ Work, a program of the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) that provides training and advocacy for teen workers. "This bill will help keep teens in Massachusetts safe by making the law real, not just something written and ignored."

Peer leaders such as Monteiro developed and filed the bill, working with mother Maggie Carey of Beverly, whose 16-year-old son was killed two years ago on the job. "You can't even imagine the pain and devastation a parent feels," Carey said. "No one should ever have to go through what we have."

This groundbreaking effort to promote safe employment opportunities for teens was co-sponsored by Senators Jehlen and Jack Hart, receiving support from House and Senate leadership and Labor and Workforce Development Co-Chairs Senator Thomas M. McGee and Representative Michael J. Rodrigues.

Bill co-sponsor Senator Patricia D. Jehlen spoke proudly of youth's involvement, saying, "Thanks to these young leaders, our new Attorney General will finally have the tools she needs to enforce safety and time laws and protect teens."

Senator McGee heard testimonies from teen advocates and became an early supporter of the bill. "This bill would not have passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate if it wasn't for the compelling testimony and the persistence of young people across the Commonwealth," McGee said.

One of the teens' main areas of concern remained workplace safety from violent crime. The bill requires that teens working after 8:00 PM be provided with adult supervision on site, thus reducing their vulnerability to robbery and assault. Also included is a section prohibiting minors from working in jobs that require them to carry a firearm.

With half of Massachusetts 16- and 17-year-olds holding jobs each year (as opposed to a 31% nationwide average), nearly 1,000 working teens entering emergency rooms with work-related injuries last year, and teen workplace injury rates doubling those of adults nationwide, there is a demonstrated need for clearer, stronger Child Labor laws.

"Teens face dangers in the workplace today unanticipated by the framers of the original Child Labor laws in the 1930s," remarked Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, Executive Director of MassCOSH. "This is a new century with new issues."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 4, 2007
MassCOSH
617-825-7233 x14

Contact: Khadijah Britton