In many states its legal for people 16-18 to work, usually with limitations on hours worked per shift/week an what kind of jobs they can do.
Even then, many older people in the US will call someone 18-20 "kids", even though they're technically adults.
As a US English speaker I took it to mean "a bunch of young and immature people, probably on their first job" when I heard "most people are just kids", not that they're literally hiring 12 year olds or something.
I can't say I know the law in every state so I typically don't say absolutes like that. If that's true, thanks for clarifying/correcting.
Also, it looks like you're right for at least the states I normally deal with. Looking back the first job I had started when I was still 15, I must have just blended those shift schedule restrictions during the rest of my time working as 16-17 as well. So yeah, I guess that's probably true.
Violating labor laws with children is actually really common, and plenty of places DO abuse young labor. It is NOT avoided
Do you think all the workers in your company's call center in some random country are all truthfully 18? Hell, do you think none of them are working against their will?
Some places hiring child labor != all places hiring child labor.
I do agree there's too much illegal child labor going on in the US and around the world, but its a stretch to assume everyone hires child labor.
Otherwise, why won't you stop hiring child labor? You've probably hired someone to do some kind of work around your home at least once, I take it you most definitely hired children then. After all, apparently everyone does it.
Why WOULDN'T mrguyorama hire child labor to do the plumbing around his home or to do his lawn work?!
>Why WOULDN'T mrguyorama hire child labor to do the plumbing around his home or to do his lawn work?!
If I had a lawn and a neighborhood with young children who were bored during the summer, I WOULD hire a child to mow it, and in fact I am hiring a child (girlfriend's younger brother) to watch our cat during a vacation!
Before child labor was significantly stamped out through aggressive labor laws, average people hired child labor all the time. Little timmy was out selling papers, little stephanie selling flowers, Paul was cleaning the chimney, and every other kid was working in the coal mine or textile mill, for absurdly low wages (even for the time!), with absurdly high injury rates, for 12 hour days.
Child labor was HUGE, and if we don't aggressively stamp it out, it WILL creep back into what we largely consider normal. Southern US states are already trying to push laws onto the books that weaken the laws against child labor.
I don't know how to make this more clear: If Youtube could get away with hiring 10k literal children and pay them peanuts to do all the moderation work, they would, conscience and honor and ethics be damned, like they always are.
When companies can get away with it (read: they abide by all laws) why would they not? It is cheaper and money is prime directive number one. Do you actually think companies make money and have a finely tuned moral compass at the same time?
I made the parent comment exactly for this discussion. Do not assume corporations have a moral compass. They do not care and will outsource each and everything if that is cheaper than handling stuff themselves.Why is it chaeaper to pay some people to get the law on your side than actually start doing normal human moral behaviour? Why can they actually outsource responsibility at all? Strange planet we live on.
Even then, many older people in the US will call someone 18-20 "kids", even though they're technically adults.
As a US English speaker I took it to mean "a bunch of young and immature people, probably on their first job" when I heard "most people are just kids", not that they're literally hiring 12 year olds or something.