Too Young To Work?

Local Pols Say Laws Are Archaic; Feds Disagree

(CBS)  The recent killing of two Colorado High School students working nights in a fast food store shocked many who didn't realize just how many teens work late hours in violation of the law. Although presumably not a matter of life-and-death, another case of kids-on-the-job is getting a lot of attention, too.

Next door to the luxurious Aspen resort is a booming ski town in its own right. In fact, the economy here is doing so well that there's more jobs than people to fill them.

"The sales clerks in the retail offices, the people attending the chair lifts to put people on the mountain, the banks, the architectural offices, virtually everybody is looking for more employees so they can do what is being asked of them by our residents and guests," says the mayor of Snowmass Village, Michael Manchester.

So the managers of Snowmass' grocery store, the Village Market, found a solution. They hired nine children, ages 9 to 13, to work as part-time baggers. The kids really enjoyed the job. "That one pays good, seven dollars, and it's just really fun meeting lots of people.," says Christian Boyer, a sixth grader.

Ryan Brady, Councilman Mark Brady's son, worked there as well. He's in seventh grade, and he felt "It was very nice to have my own money and make my own money, instead of asking my parents for it all the time."

But when the local paper reported that children were working at the store in violation of federal labor laws, the kids were all let go. Parents got angry, including Mark Brady. "They all were very upset by being told they couldn't do it ," he says, "and it was very problematic for me as an attorney to tell them that it was a law, a law that they couldn't understand and, as far as they were concerned, didn't apply to them."

"If we're 12 years old and want to work we should be able to work. I think it's fair. It's not like they're forcing us to work ," Ryan Brady says.

Joey Stokes, a 6th grader, agrees. "We're not working in sweatshops and they're not like doing stuff like chaining us and stuff to work there," he points out.

After the Great Depression, when children were forced to work in factories, sweatshops and retail, the United States government passed legislation limiting child labor to odd jobs like paper routes and babysitting. Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich says those laws are still needed. "For every nine year-old who has a wholesome work experience, there are likely to be 20 young kids, eight to nine years old, who are being exploited, who are working when they ought to be in a playground or in school."

Thomas Farrell, Aspen School District Superintendent, agrees. "I'm from the school that says let kids be kids," he says.

Beyond the legal aspects, the school superintendent says, in an affluent community like Snowmass, parents should be conscious of the time work can take away from a child’s education.

"Many of our kid are going to go on for college and most of the parents are going to (want them to?) reach their college of choice," Thomas Farrell says. "That means that our students have to put a lot of time and energy into academics, and that can't happen if you have a child working a part-time or full-time job as well."

Both kids and parents in Snowmass say working at the store did not interfere with school. At a recent town meeting, Councilman Brady pressured Colorado's Senator Wayne Allard to review child labor laws. "I'm interested to know if you agree with some modification of what I consider to be a somewhat outdated federal law," Brady said.

"I think we have to be sure," Allard replied. "We don't allow exploitation of our young people, but I think we do have to give them an opportunity to work."

In Snowmass Village, they argue that times have changed. Laws that protected children from exploitation are now denying them opportunity. It's an argument that will be a tough sell in Washington.

"The problem is, if you open the door to child labor even a crack, you open the door to all kinds of abuses which this country said 62 years ago it was not going to tolerate," Robert Reich says.