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The Labor Department’s top attorney is concerned about efforts to weaken child labor laws. There are plenty of such bills to worry about.

In the wake of the 2010 midterm elections, when so-called tea party Republicans were riding high, a surprising number of GOP officials took aim at an unexpected target: child labor laws. It might’ve seemed as if a decades-old national consensus had taken root, but many Republicans were eager for a new public conversation on the topic.

Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, for example, suggested child labor laws might not be constitutional. Paul LePage, then the governor of Maine, called for rolling back his state’s restrictions on children in the workplace. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa even argued that new child labor laws might help combat childhood obesity.

Ahead of his ill-fated 2012 presidential campaign, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich went so far as to argue that existing child labor laws were, as he put it in 2011, “truly stupid.”

In time, the issue largely faded from the Republican Party’s to-do list, but it appears to be making a comeback. The Washington Post reported yesterday that Seema Nanda, the Labor Department’s top attorney, called efforts to weaken child-worker protections “irresponsible,” as there are plenty of reasons for her to be concerned:

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a rising Republican star, on Tuesday signed legislation into law that eliminated age verification requirements for youth workers younger than 16 years old. A similar proposal is advancing in Missouri. Iowa legislators are considering a bill that would allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work certain jobs in meatpacking plants and shield businesses from civil liability if a child laborer is sickened, injured or killed on the job. A bill in Minnesota would permit 16- and 17-year-olds to work construction jobs.

The New Republic this week reported on a related effort in Ohio, which has already passed one chamber in the state legislature, and newly adopted policies in New Hampshire.

As my MSNBC colleague Ja’han Jones explained, the timing of these efforts could be better: The new state law in Arkansas, for example, “follows a stunning revelation from the Labor Department that one of the world’s largest food sanitation companies, Packers Sanitation Services Inc., had employed at least 102 children — some as young as 13 — to work hazardous factory jobs in eight states. Some worked overnight shifts using ‘caustic chemicals to clean razor-sharp saws,’ the Labor Department said.”

Despite this, policymakers in a surprising number of states are apparently trying to make child labor great again.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow...tes-try-make-child-labor-great-rcna74354

Trying to bail out businesses at the cost of rescinding the very laws created to protect school age children in our own country.


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Child labor violations are on the rise as some states look to loosen their rules

Child labor violations have been on the rise since 2015 after declining for years, according to data from the U.S. Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division. The total number of violations is much lower than it was two decades ago, but experts are still troubled.

In 2015 — the low point in the data — the Wage and Hour Division found 1,012 minors employed in violation of child labor laws, with an average of 1.9 per case. In 2022, that number more than tripled to 3,876, averaging 4.6 per case.

"We're doing more outreach and education," which helps people recognize violations, says Jessica Looman, principal deputy administrator of the Wage and Hour Division. "We also are doing more investigations."

The division is finding more minors per case, and it's not clear why. Investigators are also finding more minors working in hazardous occupations, where children could get seriously injured.

"Those numbers are creeping back up again, and that's a real concern to us," says Looman.

It's important to hold employers accountable, "but this is also an issue that is community based. It is school based. It is parent based," Looman says. "All of us together as a society and an economy have to come together and make sure that we are protecting our kids. And when we look at the increase in child labor violations, we have to ask ourselves the question, how are we letting this happen in 2022, 2023?"
What does child labor look like in the U.S.?

Child labor negatively affects the education and health of children who engage in it, experts say. Employers are responsible for ensuring a safe workplace that complies with child labor laws, Looman says.

Part of the division's focus is on prevention — educating teens about their rights and employers about their responsibilities and strategies to ensure compliance. The division also has a range of enforcement mechanisms at its disposal to respond to violations of different levels of severity, from fines to injunctions.

Looman says most violations occur in places where it's appropriate for minors to work, meaning teenagers are working too many hours at a grocery store or operating a fryer and staying too late at a fast-food chain. For example, in 2022, more than 100 kids across several McDonald's locations in Pennsylvania were illegally scheduled to work too many hours or too late at night. Subway, Burger King and Popeyes restaurants in South Carolina were fined for similar violations in 2022.

But Looman says the division is troubled by the fact that investigators are finding more children working in dangerous jobs.

There's no excuse for "why these alarming violations are occurring, with kids being employed where they shouldn't even be in the first place," Looman says.

This month, Packers Sanitation Services paid a $1.5 million fine for employing 102 children to work in dangerous meatpacking facility jobs across eight states. Last summer, Reuters revealed that children as young as 12 — many of whom were migrants — were hired to work in a metal shop owned by Hyundai.

These cases represent common types of hazardous-occupation violations found by investigators — namely cleaning or operating dangerous machinery.

The U.S. generally has good child labor laws, except for agriculture, says Reid Maki, director of child labor advocacy for the National Consumers League and coordinator of the Child Labor Coalition, which works to end abusive child labor. Minors as young as 12 can work long hours, and agriculture's hazardous-occupation orders aren't as strict as in nonagricultural industries.

While child labor violations can affect minors of all backgrounds, "a lot of the kids we see working in exploitative situations tend to be from immigrant families" and Latino, Maki said.

They're often harvesting fruits and vegetables. In a 2019 study, 30 child farmworkers in North Carolina ranging from 10 to 17 told researchers they were pressured to work quickly in dangerous conditions, faced wage theft and worked long hours in the heat.

"We walk a lot. That's hard. Sometimes your hands hurt," a 13-year-old boy who picked tomatoes told the researchers. "And your back, sometimes it will be hurting."

But immigrant children are vulnerable to other kinds of labor, too, from construction to meatpacking. Immigration raids in the early 2000s inadvertently revealed the children of migrant workers employed in meatpacking plants, and advocates like Maki have been concerned about child labor in those facilities ever since.

Maki says such workplaces are "one of the worst environments for children to be in."
Labor shortages are driving efforts to loosen child labor laws. They could be contributing to violations too.

In a tight labor market — like the current one — employers sometimes prefer to fill jobs with minors, who tend to be cheaper and more docile workers, Maki says.

"At a time when they were saying there are labor shortages, they were finding kids that would do the work," Maki says of the recent Packers Sanitation case. "I think they felt that if they could get kids, they would take them."

To ease labor shortages, lawmakers in some states have introduced legislation to loosen child labor laws, including in some of the most dangerous jobs.

Bills introduced in January in Minnesota and Iowa would allow some teenagers to work in construction and meatpacking plants, respectively. The Iowa bill would also let some youth under 16 drive themselves to work and extend the hours teenagers could work. In 2022, efforts to expand teens' working hours passed in New Jersey but weren't signed into law in two other states.

Supporters of legislation to allow minors to work more jobs and more hours say it fills an economic need and can teach them responsibility and financial literacy.

"Having kids get the opportunity to work is important," Jessica Dunker, president and CEO of the Iowa Restaurant Association, said in testimony to Iowa lawmakers. She also said minors who want to work deserve the same level of choice as those who want to participate in other after-school activities.

Maki says he and other advocates aren't against safe, part-time work for teens, where "they can learn work ethic and work skills."

But he says that allowing children to work longer hours increases the risk they'll get into car accidents — driving in the dark, exhausted — and that the jobs these bills allow minors to take are dangerous.

"There's no safe part of a loading dock," Maki says. With the provision in the Iowa bill that would lessen businesses' civil liability if child laborers got sick, injured or killed on the job, "it's as if they know that kids are going to get hurt."

https://www.npr.org/2023/02/26/1157368469/child-labor-violations-increase-states-loosen-rules

Businesses keep breaking child labor laws? That's okay, we'll just make what they're doing legal.


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I’m betting minimum wages are fairly low in those states as well. We be dancing madly backwards since 2016.


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I dont have a problem with teens working. I was a baby sitter when I was a teen. But I dont think those jobs are appropriate. Let them deliver newpapers. Or work for a lawn company. Rake leaves. More power to them for building a strong work ethic.


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But they need them in the meat packing and construction biz. pronto not raking leaves.


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Colorado GOP selects combative, election-denying new leader

LOVELAND, Colo. (AP) — The Colorado Republican Party on Saturday selected a combative former state representative who promised to be a “wartime” leader as its new chairman, joining several other state GOPs this year that have elected far-right figures and election conspiracy theorists to their top posts.

The move in Colorado comes as the party totters on the brink of political irrelevance in a state moving swiftly to the left.

Former State Rep. Dave Williams, who unsuccessfully tried to insert the phrase “Let’s Go Brandon” into his name on the party’s primary ballot last year and insists — incorrectly — that former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election, was selected by the party’s executive committee out of a seven-person field.

Williams crossed the required 50% threshold on the third ballot after being endorsed by one of his competitors, indicted former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who had failed to surpass 10%. Peters faces seven felony charges for her alleged role in illegally accessing voting machines in her county. She has denied the allegations while becoming a prominent national figure in the election conspiracy movement.

A three-term state representative from a conservative district in the city of Colorado Springs, Williams unsuccessfully challenged Rep. Doug Lamborn in the Republican primary last year. The Colorado Secretary of State’s office rejected his effort to include a popular conservative phrase denigrating President Joe Biden in his name on the ballot. A judge agreed Williams could not be known as Dave “Let’s Go Brandon” Williams.

In his speech to nearly 400 hardcore Republican activists and party leaders, Williams reprised the themes he hit during his campaign — that the party’s recent poor performance in Colorado is simply due to it not fighting hard enough, not any disconnect between its activists and the majority of the state’s voters.

“Our party doesn’t have a brand problem,” Williams told the group. “Our party has a problem with feckless leaders. ... We need a wartime leader.”

Election deniers have won three other state party chair positions recently — in Idaho, Kansas and Michigan — and as his party is reeling from a brutal 2022 election year.

Republicans lost every statewide election last year by double digits and are down to their lowest share of the state Legislature in Colorado history. They have not won a major statewide race since 2014 and lag well behind Democrats and unaffiliated voters in registration.

Like six of the seven candidates who ran, Williams advocated trying to overturn a ballot measure that requires the party to allow unaffiliated voters to cast ballots in its primary. All of the candidates except Kevin McCarney, a former Mesa County party chairman, expressed skepticism that Biden legitimately won the 2020 election.

Williams’ main rival ended up being Erik Aadland, a combat veteran and political novice who ran an unsuccessful race for a congressional swing seat in the Denver suburbs last year. Although he’s also questioned the 2020 election results, he advocated for discussing elections in less aggressive language and based his speech Saturday around the theme of how “love trumps hate.”

Still, he also spoke in combative terms about how the party should move forward after Williams’ selection.

“We are besought by a radical left that wants to destroy this country, and we need to come together and win elections,” Aadland told the crowd.

https://apnews.com/article/republic...EfFBcf4PdDwtC4SMWjP1CBD4Q9ZAOTS-RI0f7WUo

And there you have it. They think politics is now a war and that it needs wartime leaders.


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Criminals electing criminals! wonderful frown


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McDonald’s caught using 10 year-old workers until 2 a.m.

Two 10-year-old children were found working at a Louisville McDonald’s restaurant — sometimes until 2 a.m. — the US Department of Labor said Tuesday.

The revelation was part of an investigation into the child labor law violations in the Southeast. The agency also found three franchisees that own more than 60 McDonald’s locations in Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio, “employed 305 children to work more than the legally permitted hours and perform tasks prohibited by law for young workers,” the Labor Department said in a statement.

The franchisees, Bauer Food, Archways Richwood and Bell Restaurant Group, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. CNN has also reached out to McDonald’s for comment.

“Investigators from the department’s Wage and Hour Division found two 10-year-old workers at a Louisville McDonald’s restaurant among many violations of federal labor laws committed by three Kentucky McDonald’s franchise operators,” the release said. “Investigators also determined two 10-year-old children were employed — but not paid — and sometimes worked as late as 2 a.m.”

The three franchisees face a combined $212,754 in civil money penalties for the child labor violations, the release said.

“Too often, employers fail to follow the child labor laws that protect young workers,” said Karen Garnett-Civils, the agency’s wage and hour division district director, in a statement. “Under no circumstances should there ever be a 10-year-old child working in a fast-food kitchen around hot grills, ovens and deep fryers.”

https://nbc-2.com/news/2023/05/03/m...CrD42rCek54S1e483eBBaEE5Vt3rJUFhlORzX9dI


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What does that have to do with Republicans?

Much of this child labor is coming from illegal immigration, which Republicans are trying to stop.


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About as much as the illegal immigrant who murdered those 5 people in Texas, but then again........we have to understand that everything bad is the fault of the Republicans according to some.

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Maybe because minimum wage in Kentucky is $7.25 an hour since Republicans won't raise it? And they can't get adults to work for such a cheap wage so they hire kids due to their greed? I know, we're not supposed to talk about that.


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So it's not about child labor laws but about where those children are from?


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So you're ok with illegals trafficing children for illegal labor. And that it's a huge problem in this country.

Sounds about right for a libtard.


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There you go. no debate without name calling. But don't worry, Vers nor any of your other cronies will notice. Child trafficking is a horrible crime. But could you try to explain what that has to do with companies in America breaking child labor laws?

It looks like you're using what you say is a whatabout when others do it.

Please try to class up your act in response.


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I'm discussing the major problem. You can't handle it.

Oh look here's another article about Biden ignoring the child labor problem.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/biden-ignored-migrant-child-labor


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Originally Posted by PitDAWG
Maybe because minimum wage in Kentucky is $7.25 an hour since Republicans won't raise it? And they can't get adults to work for such a cheap wage so they hire kids due to their greed? I know, we're not supposed to talk about that.

This would be a great example of a straw argument. In case, ya know, you needed one.

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I guess if you feel paying a wage below the poverty level wage isn't a reason adults can't afford to work at such low wages and that's why businesses hire so many minors is somehow a straw argument you have a point. But in this case it's a valid reason.


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Now if you could only explain what child trafficking has to do with American businesses breaking child labor laws..... #whatabout


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Originally Posted by PitDAWG
I guess if you feel paying a wage below the poverty level wage isn't a reason adults can't afford to work at such low wages and that's why businesses hire so many minors is somehow a straw argument you have a point. But in this case it's a valid reason.


It is a straw argument. People aren't exploiting children because the minimum wage is low, they are doing it for free, or virtually free, labor. If this was minimum wage issue they would be paying the children minimum wage. They aren't.

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Originally Posted by PitDAWG
Maybe because minimum wage in Kentucky is $7.25 an hour since Republicans won't raise it? And they can't get adults to work for such a cheap wage so they hire kids due to their greed? I know, we're not supposed to talk about that.

While that may be a fact, the min. wage - just stop with it, okay?

First off, fast food restaurants are hiring people at $12 to $15 an hour, right now, today. Gas stations start at around $12. Fast food workers, unless they are shift managers or up, and gas station clerk jobs are NOT full time jobs, and not meant to be livable wage jobs.

If you know someone working a full time job, and doing even semi decent at it - that is making $7.25 an hour, that person needs to leave that job. Shoot, REAL full time jobs at a factory are starting people off $15 to $18 an hour right now.

So the state min. is $7.25 an hour...........big deal. No one is making that.

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When talking about wages being paid in fast food, is that where you live or in Louisville Ky.? How many times do I have to show you that the very reason minimum wage was created was to provide a liveable wage for Americans?

Quote
In a recent letter to the editor, a person asked, “Whoever said the minimum wage should be a living wage?”

The answer is Franklin Delano Roosevelt, when the original minimum-wage law was passed in 1933.

Roosevelt said, “In my Inaugural I laid down the simple proposition that nobody is going to starve in this country. It seems to me to be equally plain that no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country.

“By business I mean the whole of commerce as well as the whole of industry; by workers I mean all workers, the white collar class as well as the men in overalls; and by living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level-I mean the wages of decent living.”

https://www.lowellsun.com/2017/09/25/fdr-set-precedent-on-minimum-wage-being-a-living-wage/

You seem to actually be giving validity as to why they hire so many minors and I agree with you. No adult can live on those wages unless they're in management. Now can you explain why, what and how that in any way excuses companies breaking child labor laws?


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Neat. Goal posts moved again.

I'm saying no one, no adult, is making $7.25 an hour. IF, they are, they have literally no skills whatsoever, at all, by any stretch.

You're saying minimum wage is too low - it's not a livable wage. I'm stating facts that no adult in existence is making minimum wage when even gas station clerks make more than that on day one. Period.

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Originally Posted by PitDAWG
McDonald’s caught using 10 year-old workers until 2 a.m.

Two 10-year-old children were found working at a Louisville McDonald’s restaurant — sometimes until 2 a.m. — the US Department of Labor said Tuesday.

The revelation was part of an investigation into the child labor law violations in the Southeast. The agency also found three franchisees that own more than 60 McDonald’s locations in Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio, “employed 305 children to work more than the legally permitted hours and perform tasks prohibited by law for young workers,” the Labor Department said in a statement.

The franchisees, Bauer Food, Archways Richwood and Bell Restaurant Group, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. CNN has also reached out to McDonald’s for comment.

“Investigators from the department’s Wage and Hour Division found two 10-year-old workers at a Louisville McDonald’s restaurant among many violations of federal labor laws committed by three Kentucky McDonald’s franchise operators,” the release said. “Investigators also determined two 10-year-old children were employed — but not paid — and sometimes worked as late as 2 a.m.”

The three franchisees face a combined $212,754 in civil money penalties for the child labor violations, the release said.

“Too often, employers fail to follow the child labor laws that protect young workers,” said Karen Garnett-Civils, the agency’s wage and hour division district director, in a statement. “Under no circumstances should there ever be a 10-year-old child working in a fast-food kitchen around hot grills, ovens and deep fryers.”

https://nbc-2.com/news/2023/05/03/m...CrD42rCek54S1e483eBBaEE5Vt3rJUFhlORzX9dI

Absolutely ridiculous.... was there any consequences?? I guess I'm ignorant... didn't think a major cooperation would hire children... disgusting...


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Originally Posted by archbolddawg
Neat. Goal posts moved again.

I'm saying no one, no adult, is making $7.25 an hour. IF, they are, they have literally no skills whatsoever, at all, by any stretch.

You're saying minimum wage is too low - it's not a livable wage. I'm stating facts that no adult in existence is making minimum wage when even gas station clerks make more than that on day one. Period.

I get your point - but I think you might be making some assumptions. Having a quick look online I have found several bits of data showing many workers/jobs starting below $9 per hour. And this link from 2020 suggests 17,000 people were employed at minimum wage.

https://kystats.ky.gov/Content/Reports/WP-LF_Update_May_2021.pdf?v=20210528090441#:~:text=In%20Kentucky%2C%20the%20minimum%20wage,workers%20that%20were%20paid%20hourly.

And while it's easy to make assumptions about the people who work minimum wage and what skills they may have - I think there are probably some people who are simply desperate for any number of reasons. I think you or I or most people would up and move if that was our choice, others don't always have that option.


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I can't remember a time in my entire life of over 66 years on this planet that I have seen more Help Wanted signs on display. The wages might not be great, but they are far above minimum wage. Places like Target, Walmart, etc are offering free college tuition in order to enticing people to work for them. I know from first hand experience how hard it is to find people willing to work and I pay $20 to $26 dollars depending on prior experience. Of course, one of our political parties is incentivising people not to work and instead rely on government assistance. I don't care what anyone says..........citizens not working is unhealthy for any nation! Meanwhile, the bleeding hearts cry about how tough things are for certain groups of people while placing the blame elsewhere.

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Exactly what are the parties "doing to incentivize people not to work?" Far more people are working in the gig portion of the economy now. try looking into that. The world is changing.


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No arch, nobody "changed anything". You simply don't wish to address the actual issue here. Even at 10-12 dollars an hour adults can't make a living on that. You're the one who brought up the topic of those people making 10-12 dollars an hour, not me.

It's why they are forced to hire so many minors. But to work more than so many hours or certain shifts you must be a certain age. As a result they have minors doing jobs and pulling shifts that aren't legal.

At least you could own up to that reality.


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A personal anecdote… I have a friend that has a masters in nutrition. She works for a non profit that helps feed those in the community that struggle to feed themselves. She makes so little that she qualifies for help from the non profit she works for.
Part of the low pay is due to them being unable to afford to keep her at full time hours because they can’t afford the benefits for her, or many of their other employees.

Yes, she knows she could get a job elsewhere making more. Hospitals pay nutritionist well. Etc. She wants to give back to her community through working at action based groups. Not working for the corporate machine. She has another similar part time job for another type of community advocacy group. It doesn’t pay much better but between the two she makes ends meet. Her quitting wouldn’t change the fact that the non profit still needs a nutritionist. So someone is going to work for them and be poor enough to use them.

Murika.


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What many fail to realize is that millions of people collecting benefits are full time workers. And while I agree with those who say they would much rather help those trying to help themselves, should people really be advocating that full time workers don't make enough money to live above the poverty level and must also depend on government assistance?

Federal Social Safety Net Programs: Millions of Full-Time Workers Rely on Federal Health Care and Food Assistance Programs

Millions of American adults who earn low wages rely on federal programs to meet basic needs, such as Medicaid for health care and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for food.

To learn more about the people who use these programs, we analyzed employment data from 11 states and Census data.

We found:

About 70% worked full time

Most worked for private sector employers in places like restaurants, department stores, and grocery stores

Others worked for state governments, public universities, or nonprofit organizations

Some employers in selected states had thousands of beneficiaries in their workforces

https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-45

I find it rather sad that people focus more on the 30% of those receiving benefits that do not work full time than focus on and advocate for the 70% that do. And then people wonder why I call that corporate welfare.


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Echoing corporate America’s political talking points and ignoring the real threats is what one party ALWAYS DOES. Just accept that fact and move on. It’s exactly why we are here, where we are as a nation, now.

Last edited by OldColdDawg; 05/04/23 03:08 PM.

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And I'm trying to NOT be someone that is collecting benefits from the gov't. It's tough. The town raise income taxes. The county raised property taxes, and our school just got passed a 9.96 mill "emergency" levee, which will cost me just a fuzz under $1000 EXTRA per year. Yet, if I raise my prices to just stay even, people gripe about it.

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Originally Posted by archbolddawg
And I'm trying to NOT be someone that is collecting benefits from the gov't. It's tough. The town raise income taxes. The county raised property taxes, and our school just got passed a 9.96 mill "emergency" levee, which will cost me just a fuzz under $1000 EXTRA per year. Yet, if I raise my prices to just stay even, people gripe about it.

This big squeeze is effecting all working class and poor people arch. I totally get you because I feel the same. I’ve probably qualified for disability for years, and so far have been able to avoid taking a penny in ‘aid’ from Uncle Sam. But I’d be lying if I said I’m not considering it and it just goes against how I was raised to the point that it feels dirty. So we’ll just keep plugging along until we can’t. I don’t care if others get aid though, never have. that’s what the programs are for. But taking aid when you don’t need it is wrong imo, so I haven’t so far.

Last edited by OldColdDawg; 05/04/23 03:21 PM.

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I know too many people that scam the system, but do it "legally". Ticks me off. And, I just keep writing larger and larger checks to the tax mEn.

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Originally Posted by archbolddawg
And I'm trying to NOT be someone that is collecting benefits from the gov't. It's tough. The town raise income taxes. The county raised property taxes, and our school just got passed a 9.96 mill "emergency" levee, which will cost me just a fuzz under $1000 EXTRA per year. Yet, if I raise my prices to just stay even, people gripe about it.

I know people will gripe about it arch. I know it costs more and more to live. I think most people are struggling with it. As a matter of fact I'm sure most people are struggling with it because it's easy to see average incomes in America and the percentage of people making above and below the average income. It's a fight millions upon millions of Americans are struggling with.

But you nor can any of your competitors stay in business by going broke. People are going to complain any time anyone raises their prices. But those people complaining aren't paying your bills. They aren't paying for your groceries or filling up your vehicles.

I'll tell you a quick story. When I worked for someone else I worked mainly south of Dayton in more affluent communities and higher priced homes. When I started my own business I worked mainly north of Dayton and focused on a large more middle class housing development which engulfed the entire town. The prices I charged were exactly the same prices my former employer charged south of Dayton. As time went on some of my competitors found out how much I charged and I was asked how in the world I was getting so much work because they felt my prices were so high in comparison.

The key was my help was very experienced and we did custom work. Not of the cookie cutter variety known for in that town. Those who appreciated such high quality had no problem paying for it. Sadly many homeowners had bad experiences with contractors not showing up on time, not getting done on time and leaving a huge mess behind. My references played a huge role in getting new work. I don't know anything about your community or the people in it. So I won't claim to know how my approach would work for you. But you can't just not keep up with the cost of living because people complain about it.


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Originally Posted by jaybird
Originally Posted by PitDAWG
McDonald’s caught using 10 year-old workers until 2 a.m.

Two 10-year-old children were found working at a Louisville McDonald’s restaurant — sometimes until 2 a.m. — the US Department of Labor said Tuesday.

The revelation was part of an investigation into the child labor law violations in the Southeast. The agency also found three franchisees that own more than 60 McDonald’s locations in Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio, “employed 305 children to work more than the legally permitted hours and perform tasks prohibited by law for young workers,” the Labor Department said in a statement.

The franchisees, Bauer Food, Archways Richwood and Bell Restaurant Group, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. CNN has also reached out to McDonald’s for comment.

“Investigators from the department’s Wage and Hour Division found two 10-year-old workers at a Louisville McDonald’s restaurant among many violations of federal labor laws committed by three Kentucky McDonald’s franchise operators,” the release said. “Investigators also determined two 10-year-old children were employed — but not paid — and sometimes worked as late as 2 a.m.”

The three franchisees face a combined $212,754 in civil money penalties for the child labor violations, the release said.

“Too often, employers fail to follow the child labor laws that protect young workers,” said Karen Garnett-Civils, the agency’s wage and hour division district director, in a statement. “Under no circumstances should there ever be a 10-year-old child working in a fast-food kitchen around hot grills, ovens and deep fryers.”

https://nbc-2.com/news/2023/05/03/m...CrD42rCek54S1e483eBBaEE5Vt3rJUFhlORzX9dI

Absolutely ridiculous.... was there any consequences?? I guess I'm ignorant... didn't think a major cooperation would hire children... disgusting...

Don't mix up major corporations with franchise owners. I am sure McDonalds proper is making very serious investigations into the actions of the franchise owners. McDonalds Corp doesn't look in to every employee hired by franchise owners.


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my guess is that they were not on the payroll. Their own children or "children of employees" that the franchise owner paid in cash or in some manner that hid the fact that they were working.

wink, wink, nod, nod..


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“Investigators also determined two 10-year-old children were employed — but not paid — and sometimes worked as late as 2 a.m.”

Other than those specific cases, the article didn't say much about individual circumstances. I'd say most of the violations were legit "on the payroll" employees of legal working age... and the violations were the work hours they were working.

Not sure of the laws now in Ohio; but when I owned a restaurant the law was "no more than 3 hours and not later than 8pm on a school night" -- unfortunately, they considered Friday a school night even though the school week was over. Neither of those restrictions work very well on a busy Friday night in a restaurant. Many employees who wanted to have their son or daughter make some extra cash bussing tables would reply "oh, it doesn't matter if it's five hours 'til 10pm... I'm okay with that". Yeah, well the state of Ohio is not. I had a buddy in the biz that was heavily fined for an employee working five hours every Friday when some disgruntled parents turned him in after their daughter quit.

Not excusing these actions by any means, just pointing out that they are using the cases of two employees at one franchise to paint a picture of some wide spread wrongdoing that looks a lot worse than it may be. But man, the numbers don't lie -- over 300 employees at 60 franchises definitely paints a terrible picture of them flat-out ignoring the law.


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That does sound pretty stupid that they consider Fridays as a school night. I know my first actual payroll job I worked was as a dishwasher at an overnight diner. I was either 14 or 15 at the time and I worked third shift on Friday and Saturday nights. While it wasn't anything special, at that age I was happy to have that job. I'm not sure I quite understand the whole " are using the cases of two employees at one franchise to paint a picture of some wide spread wrongdoing" part of your post but I guess that's a conclusion one could arrive at.


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