Work permits: A readily-implemented lever for reducing illegal child labor

As summer approaches, plenty of teenagers nationwide are gearing up for their first jobs. This should be a positive experience, as they gain skills, earn money and develop a solid work ethic that will serve them for the future. But in recent years, the U.S. has seen a harrowing rise in child labor violations; many teenagers work excessively long hours, risking their physical health and (during the school year) their education. In some extreme cases, minors have worked in meatpacking plants, construction sites and auto manufacturers. 

What action can states take to keep teenage workers safe?  

New research released this week shows the effectiveness of one particular policy intervention for reducing child labor violations: requiring employment certificates, or work permits. 

Work permits are documents verifying a minors’ age, often also detailing the work they have been hired to do, and the days and hours they will be employed. They usually must be kept on site by employers while minors are working. Teenagers typically apply for them at their schools or the state labor department. The application process requires parents’ signatures, and often approval by the student’s school as well.

Last year, Arkansas and Iowa unwisely eliminated this vital protection, and similar laws have been proposed in other states. But a new study by University of Maryland researchers Fred Bao and Ashish Kabra shows that this is a terrible idea. Instead, states should keep or strengthen their work permit laws for minors. (Full disclosure: as a legal expert who’s written about child labor, I spoke briefly with Bao and Kabra during their research process). 

As part of analyzing factors leading to noncompliance with child labor laws, Bao and Kabra compared the rate of federal child labor violations in states with work permit requirements relative to those without, from 2008 to 2020. The results were striking. 

In states that require work permits, there were 16.9%  fewer federal child labor violations, compared with states that do not. Also, the violations that did occur in states requiring work permits involved fewer minors per violation. This creates a multiplier effect, so that in total, there were  43.4% fewer minors whose rights were violated per million residents in states with work permits compared with those without. Bao and Kabra conclude that “states enforcing mandatory employment certificates for minors have witnessed a notable decline in violations, underscoring the policy’s effectiveness as a deterrent against illegal child employment.” 

This finding confirms what common sense suggests. Work permits play a vital role in preventing child labor violations because they educate children, parents and employers about the law. They generally require proof of age, parental consent, school permission and often also information about the potential employer, along with job duties and work schedule. The relevant forms in many states include a written summary of state child labor laws, an important measure, given that most adults don’t know much about workplace laws. 

The application process puts front and center for everyone involved the fact that this is a child working, and, as a result, special rules apply. Most work permit applications list the state labor department’s website and contact information so children, parents and employers know where to turn for help. The work permit process also allows schools to play a role; they know which children are working, so teachers can be aware if a student’s job is interfering with their education.

The application process can also allow government authorities to catch incipient violations before they occur. Maine’s labor department denied 200 of 4,700 work permit applications it had received by mid-2023 because they were for hazardous work prohibited by law, including construction and manufacturing positions. 

Bao and Kabra’s research also identified other policies that impact child labor violation rates. Most notably, states with higher minimum wages had fewer violations, suggesting that adults will fill certain jobs when pay is more attractive. Low unemployment rates (i.e., tight labor markets) and influxes of unaccompanied minors both also corresponded with more violations. Amid multiple factors, though, work permits stand out as a readily-implemented lever for making a meaningful difference. 

Opponents of work permits deploy tired tropes, saying that the government should not get between parents and their children. This argument is actually an “opposite day” kind of claim. Work permits require parents to sign off, ensuring that teens can’t work without parents or guardians knowing and giving permission.

Instead of rollbacks, states should consider how to better leverage this win-win process. States with bare-bones applications and permits should add summaries of the law to their forms. States can consider bringing the process online, as New Jersey did; it ensures a complete electronic record of all permit holders and also has the benefit of requiring all children and parents to visit the labor department’s website. Washington state requires employers who want to hire minors to get a special endorsement on their business license. States could adopt this approach, or even build on it, requiring employers to complete a brief online training about child labor laws to obtain the endorsement. 

But even without enhancements, it’s a no-brainer that states with work permit requirements should retain them, and those without such rules should enact them. As for states that recently eliminated work permits, they should feel no shame about changing course: policymaking should be evidence-based, and the Maryland study provides information that is newly available and highly persuasive. As Bao and Kabra write, “Our evidence robustly challenges the notion that loosening child labor laws could be benign, highlighting instead the critical protective layer these regulations offer against child exploitation.”

Parents and guardians sign a lot of forms over the years of raising kids: permission forms for field trips, for participation in sports and more. Work permits involve minimal process with outsized impact, essential for protecting children before they head into the adult world of work. Common sense has long suggested that requiring work permits would prevent violations. Now compelling data does, too. 

Terri Gerstein is the director of New York University’s Wagner Labor Initiative in the NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.