During a House Education and Workforce Committee hearing prior to the congressional recess, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) discussed her disapproval of cuts at the U.S. Department of Labor leading to more forced arbitration agreements.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
00:03Due to the relentless cuts to the Department of Labor's capacity,
00:08the agency is struggling to fully enforce the laws already on the books and protect the rights of all workers.
00:15Thankfully, some laws such as the FLSA provide workers with the right to bring their claims in court themselves
00:23to recover lost wages and receive other remedies.
00:27However, with the rise of forced arbitration agreements, more and more workers are finding the courthouse doors close to them.
00:36Mr. Stettner, can you explain how forced arbitration agreements harm workers and allow more law-breaking corporations to evade accountability for labor violations?
00:47Sure. In recent years, forced arbitration agreements have expanded from business to business, to business to consumers and workers.
00:56So that means when someone's rights are violated, they do not have the same ability to take that claim to court and get full restitution,
01:05and they're forced to go into arbitration.
01:08Mr. President Trump's Project 2025 playbook calls for eliminating federal child labor rules that identify which jobs are too hazardous for children to be allowed to work.
01:22Mr. Stettner, what do you think would be the consequences of removing rules that limit children from being employed in jobs that are dangerous workplaces?
01:33You know, the simple answer is more children will get injured and maybe even die.
01:38There are a list of occupations that the Fair Labor Standard Act, through its regulations, based on research from Occupational Safety and Health, you know, are too dangerous for children.
01:49And this is common sense things. Operating a saw in a meat processing plant is an example. Working in a coal mine. These are things that we don't want children in the 21st century to be forced to work in when they should be in school.
02:05It will mean that more children are are going to be working at night and not being able to complete their homework.
02:13And unfortunately, we've seen this go in the wrong direction.
02:17Despite many criticisms of what the Biden administration did on child labor, wanting to enforce more states are going in the opposite direction.
02:26We've had 30 states propose changes to child labor, labor law and eight states actually roll back protections for children in workplaces that are unsafe.
02:38We shouldn't be going back to the 19th century. We should be allowing kids to learn and get the safe work experience as they build for their own future.
02:48Thank you, Mr. Setner. Mr. Chairman, I request unanimous consent to add to the record the Project 2025 proposal to weaken federal child labor rules and an article titled Trump's Early Actions Mirror Project 2025, the blueprint he once dismissed.
03:07Without objection.
03:09According to the New York Times, the resurgence of child labor appears to be linked at least in part to the exploitation of migrant children.
03:19Mr. Setner, to what extent do you think the current administration's approach to immigration enforcement could affect child labor enforcement?
03:29When you make it harder for immigrants to work lawfully with status, you're forcing themselves and unfortunate children to go underground into the economy and work and work in dangerous conditions.
03:44Also, you're making a cloak of fear that's impacting immigrants and their willingness to complain when the law is being violated that is enacted to protect them.
03:55But they're so worried about risking their immigration status, you know, that they won't complain.
04:00And lastly, if we see a return to policies like family separation, you're going to be leaving more children isolated with no other way to support themselves than working in very dangerous jobs.
04:12For example, cleaning at night in factories with dangerous chemicals and equipment.
04:19Thank you, Mr. Setner.
04:20Mr. Chairman, I hope we can all agree that children are the biggest assets of our nation and that we will work to make sure child labor is enforced and that we are doing everything to protect our children.
04:36I yield back.
04:40Thank you, Mr. Setner.
04:42Okay?
04:43Next we go for.
04:44Thank you for working.
04:48Thank you for talking.