"Kate Plus 8" Does Not Violate Child Labor Laws, State Agency Ruled
PHILADEPLHIA (CBS/AP) Pennsylvania's Department of Labor has ruled in favor of Kate Gosselin's sextuplets appearing on the reality show "Kate Plus 8."
The state's labor department has defended its decision to issue work permits to Kate Gosselin's sextuplets for the TLC reality spin-off series.
A statement from the Department of Labor and Industry says the children are not being "unlawfully exploited" by the filming at their home in Wernersville.
"Reality television is a new area of entertainment," the agency said in a statement. "However, Labor & Industry assured during its investigation, visit to the site, and issuance of permits that protections applied to these children and that they were not unlawfully exploited."
The declaration came after state Rep. Thomas Murt wrote a letter last week to the labor department seeking an inquiry into whether TLC had breached child labor guidelines as Gosselin's sextuplets are all under 7-years-old.
Gosselin's sextuplets have been working as employees of TLC via Gosselin's original program "Jon & Kate Plus 8" since the program first ran on Discovery Health in 2007 and TLC starting in 2008.