Within the child labor community, there is general consensus that our federal and state laws are dated and do not adequately protect working minors from hazards. The U.S. is number one among affluent nations in the rate of adolescents killed or injured at work. Every year approximately 100 minors die from work-related injury alone. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health estimate that more than 200,000 minors suffer work-related injuries every year. We know that injuries and deaths often occur when minors are working illegally in prohibited occupations.
Fatalities are even more striking.
In a variety of studies, between 38 and 86 percent of all adolescent occupational fatalities occurred during prohibited activity. In order to comply with the Convention, given the high rates of work related injuries among adolescents, it would be prudent for the federal government to review the Hazardous Orders and other prohibitions in light of current workplace technology and activities. It would also be expedient for the U.S. Department of Labor to review every decade the prohibited occupations to incorporate new findings about workplace hazards and emerging technologies. The first provision under the Convention, Article 32 is that State Parties shall provide for a minimum age or minimum ages for admission to employment. Obviously, there is no set minimum age for employment under the Convention.