More States Want to Let Kids Work as Bartenders

Child labour protection laws are facing a rollback in several states across the United States, with more states now allowing teenagers to serve alcohol at bars and restaurants.

According to a report released by the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, at least nine states have introduced bills since 2021 to lower the minimum age for serving alcohol, and seven of them have already enacted these changes. The states that have already lowered the minimum age include Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, New Mexico, and Alabama. Other states, such as Wisconsin and Idaho, are pushing to follow suit by seeking to lower the alcohol service age even further.

The push for lowering the alcohol service age comes in response to challenges faced by restaurants and industry groups, like the National Restaurant Association, in hiring workers. The leisure and hospitality sector currently has 1.3 million job openings, making it difficult for operators to fill vacancies. In fact, around 80% of restaurant operators report that they have job openings that are tough to fill due to a shortage of workers. Many restaurant workers have left the industry in recent years due to low wages and poor working conditions.

However, labour experts warn that lowering the minimum age to serve alcohol could expose teenagers to potential risks, including sexual harassment and underage drinking. The restaurant industry already has the highest number of child labour law violations, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

The efforts to lower alcohol serving ages are part of a larger trend of loosening child labour protections in states across the country. While federal laws provide minimum protections for child labour, many states have recently introduced or passed laws rolling back these protections. For example, in March, Arkansas rolled back several child labor protections, including a requirement for employers to obtain work certificates for children under the age of 16.

Child labour violations are also on the rise, with the US Department of Labor witnessing a 69% increase in illegal employment of children by companies since 2018. The department discovered that 835 companies had employed over 3,800 children in violation of labour laws.

In response to the growing issue of labour exploitation of migrant children, President Joe Biden’s administration has announced plans to crack down on such exploitation across the country, following an investigation conducted by the New York Times into the alarming growth of migrant child labor in various industries. One significant case involved Packers Sanitation Services, which paid $1.5 million in civil penalties for employing minors in hazardous occupations and having them work overnight shifts at meat processing facilities owned by JBS, Cargill, Tyson, and others.