Trump Admin II: Orange Fascist Boogaloo

Tuckerfan · Feb 21, 2025

https://bsky.app/profile/joshuajfriedman.com/post/3linukliqyc2r

notnick · Feb 21, 2025

Uncle Albert said: ↑

Diacanu said: ↑

Coloratura said: ↑

Crosis36 said: ↑

I'm pretty sure that, in three same shoes as that father, I'd have to be restrained from choking those kids to death.
Click to expand...

I can understand why. Intellectually, I'm sure you know those kids have been conditioned to be little bigots by their parents, but emotionally, the idea that children would take pleasure in causing the suffering of someone different than them just eats away at you, it eats away at me too. Our hateful culture is raising Hitler Jugend, and I can only see it getting worse from here if things don't change and soon.
Click to expand...

I went to school with some little fucking monsters, and that was the 80's.
Click to expand...

The "monsters" were relentless with me. I managed to avoid offing myself. Make your children more resilient.
Click to expand...

much to the chagrin of the rest of the world

Will Power · Feb 21, 2025

The REAL & TRUE President of the United States of America ...

and the TRUE & REAL Vice President of the United States of America

Diacanu · Feb 21, 2025

Why'd you go with the pic that makes Elon look like a children's Bible illustration?

Will Power · Feb 21, 2025

Diacanu said: ↑

Why'd you go with the pic that makes Elon look like a children's Bible illustration?

Click to expand...

DAMN!

@Diacanu , I didn't realize that about that Elon pic@ALL!

A more dastardly picture of Elon Muskrat would've gone better with that pic of Putin on top.

Unfortunately , I think it's too late to change the Elon pic@this point.

Tuckerfan · Feb 21, 2025

https://www.theverge.com/news/617014/federal-workers-we-the-builders-website-doge

Coloratura · Feb 21, 2025

Anyone who wants to follow the "progress" of Project 2025 can do so here:

https://www.project2025.observer/

See as the fascists who have taken control of our government enact their draconian and theocratic policies.

Tuckerfan · Feb 21, 2025

https://bsky.app/profile/dburbach.bsky.social/post/3liq5hilmns2b

Tuckerfan · Feb 21, 2025

https://bsky.app/profile/pwnallthethings.bsky.social/post/3liq5wq4l4s2l

Coloratura · Feb 21, 2025

It's only been one fucking month. Holy shit.

We Are Borg · Feb 21, 2025

Tuckerfan said: ↑

View attachment 85431

https://bsky.app/profile/pwnallthethings.bsky.social/post/3liq5wq4l4s2l
Click to expand...

Paragraph 2 pretty much makes paragraph 1 useless, so long as the president can say it's in the "national interest".

Hell, he's using national security as an excuse for all kinds of bullshit, so why not throw "national interest" onto the pile?

We Are Borg · Feb 21, 2025

Also, this...

Hitler and the German Officer Corps

"Of 92 German generals who had active major commands or were in key positions in the Wehrmacht High Command between the years 1933 and 1945, 35 were relieved of their offices or dismissed in disgrace by reason of disagreement or dispute with Hitler, eight more were disciplined with dishonorable discharge; that is almost 50%."

Nova · Feb 21, 2025

Coloratura said: ↑

They're (US media and organizations) complying and normalizing things so goddamn fast. Unless something changes, and soon, we're in a fuck ton of trouble.

Click to expand...

PBS has had a problem with this for a while. A right winger can say pretty much anything and have it treated as a respectable difference of opinion

shootER · Feb 21, 2025

Trump's "Honeymoon" Didn't Even Last a Month

Nova · Feb 21, 2025

Nova · Feb 21, 2025

Today's edition of NotShocking News

Justice Dept. to Drop Discrimination Case Against Elon Musk’s SpaceX - The New York Times

shootER · Feb 22, 2025

Millions of people who consider themselves “manly men” worship this quivering, insecure bag of diarrhea.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politi...-dhs-ad-campaign-thanks-president-1235276324/

Diacanu · Feb 22, 2025

"Operation Whirlwind" is expanding and evolving into trying to crush ANY dissent from anybody.
Going after congress-critters was just the warmup.
And, it's named after a brutal Russian military operation that crushed a 50's pro-democracy movement.

Unlimited free speech though, right, UA?

Tuckerfan · Feb 23, 2025

https://x.com/sentinasmith/status/1893683042650083375?s=46&t=iYW3foyqIA6Tn8VWwn3nwQ

Tuckerfan · Feb 23, 2025

They Worked to Prevent Death. The Trump Administration Fired Them.

Tuckerfan · Feb 23, 2025

FF is overjoyed.

Nova · Feb 24, 2025

Tuckerfan · Feb 24, 2025

Trump cuts threaten a ‘generation of scientists’ as many weigh leaving US

Ancalagon · Feb 24, 2025

Tuckerfan said: ↑

Trump cuts threaten a ‘generation of scientists’ as many weigh leaving US
Click to expand...

This.

Huawei is a national security threat to the US due to their control of much of the worlds’ 5G.

The guy behind it is a Turk that went to school in the US and couldn’t get a visa to stay.

Trump really is fucking this country over for generations.

Diacanu · Feb 24, 2025

So, my thumb missed a digit on the remote, and I accidentally caught 5 minutes of Fox News.
They're sucking Elon's dick, and basically playing out the "the government employees deserve it for parading around in miniskirts like little sluts" defense.
FF must be overjoyed.

And if anyone misses the little twerp, that's what he was going to be posting for the next....YEAR.
So, fill in his goofy posts with your imagination.

Tuckerfan · Feb 24, 2025

https://x.com/gunnelswarren/status/1893438767077191872?s=46&t=iYW3foyqIA6Tn8VWwn3nwQ

Coloratura · Feb 24, 2025

Finally, child labor will be great(ly debilitating) again!

Lawmakers Roll Back Protections Amid Rising Child Labor Safety Violations in Indiana

Indystar said:

As Indiana’s part-time legislature returned to the Statehouse in January, a new law allowed another group of Hoosiers to spend more time in the workforce.

Those workers are teens, some as young as 14, filling low-level jobs at places like restaurants, seasonal attractions and retail stores. Many are taking jobs for the first time — or working longer hours — under a 2024 law that rolled back safety protections while making it harder to track how many children are in Indiana's workforce and where they are employed.

House Enrolled Act 1093 was approved last year after labor law violations involving teens hit a nine-year high in 2023, according to an IndyStar analysis. The legislation was the latest move to relax child labor restrictions in Indiana. As of Jan. 1, 16 and 17-year-olds can work the same hours as adults and are no longer restricted by school hours and days. They also can work overnight without an adult and perform hazardous agriculture jobs.

Most existing restrictions for 14- and 15-year-olds remain — they typically cannot work before 7 a.m. and after 7 p.m. — but some of those teens can now work during school hours. The new exemptions apply to students who've completed the eighth grade, graduated high school or have a child to support.

The bill drew outcry from advocacy groups and Democratic lawmakers concerned about businesses taking advantage of vulnerable children. But the author, state Rep. Kendell Culp, R-Rensselaer, said the legislation was about bringing Indiana in line with federal law and supporting parental rights.

“There always could be bad actors in any industry,” Culp said. “I understand the safeguards, but the government shouldn't be telling parents where their children should be working or when.”

Lauren Murfree, a policy analyst for the Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute, which has opposed changes to state labor laws, said the institute is supportive of good business owners. Her concern is that the changes could adversely impact youth, especially low-income children and those helping support their families.

“We are not supportive of individuals that are taking advantage of the system, taking advantage of individuals that don't know their rights, that are minors," said Murfree, who was injured on the job as a teen worker. "No matter what, employers are adults. There is a power difference there.”

Child well-being:How are kids in Indiana doing? Report shows overall child well-being metrics dropping

The debate over easing child labor regulations has surfaced frequently in the last five-plus years at the Indiana Statehouse. It's part of a national trend, primarily in Republican-led states, to help businesses struggling to find workers following the COVID-19 pandemic. But it started earlier in Indiana.

Changes to Indiana law since 2019 include:

Eliminating teen work permits

Shifting oversight from the Indiana Department of Education to the Indiana Department of Labor

Removing rest break requirements for minors

Exempting businesses employing fewer than five teens from registering them with the state

Ending citations for brief violations of work hour restrictions

In 2020, state lawmakers made one other key modification: They renamed the state’s Bureau of Child Labor to the Bureau of Youth Employment and replaced references to “child labor” in Indiana code with “youth employment."

Former state Rep. Randy Lyness, who sponsored the 2020 bill, explained the motivation: “Child labor gives it a bad connotation to start with," he said at the time. "We’re wanting to change it to employment of minors. It sounds a little better."

The moves in Indiana also support a new work-readiness philosophy encouraging young people to seek apprenticeships and employment opportunities while in school. The state’s new high school diplomas include work-based learning hour requirements. Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for a Republican president after the Biden administration, also calls for relaxing regulations to allow teenagers to work in hazardous jobs with parental consent and proper training.

While there are no bills filed this legislative session that appear to directly impact Indiana’s child labor laws, past proposals have some lawmakers and advocates wondering where Indiana might go next.

Why Bub's Burgers supports relaxing rules
Matt Frey, who owns Bub's Burgers restaurants in Westfield, Carmel, Zionsville and Bloomington, has been a longtime advocate for relaxing the state's rules. In 2024, he brought three of his teen workers from Zionsville to testify at the Statehouse about the benefits of having a job.

Frey knows his business isn't perfect. Some locations have run afoul of rules about hours, work permits and rest breaks in the past. Frey said he does his best to monitor and hire the right managers to ensure the laws are followed but believes many of the regulations are outdated.

“It needs to be modernized because there are so many kids that want and desire to work," Frey said. "And candidly, the parents want it, too.”

Frey tries to make sure teen jobs are a learning experience, not just a paycheck. He shares "Bubisms" with his teen employees who work jobs like ice cream scoopers and servers. They're things you should avoid in customer service, sales or an interview. A common example: Don't say "um" in response to a question.

Tradition of child labor
Long before there were state and federal regulations on when underage employees could work at places like Bub's, it was normal for children to have jobs.

The Industrial Revolution transformed workplaces. Children often sought jobs to support their families, sometimes working in factories where the demand for labor was high. There minors could perform hazardous jobs where they were easy to exploit, said Marquita Walker, an associate professor of labor studies at Indiana University.

“Children tend to work more cheaply. Children are also more compliant,” Walker said. “They don't argue with their supervisor or their boss, they generally just do what they're told.”

In Indiana, children in the early 1900s often worked long hours at dangerous jobs. They operated heavy machinery at a manufacturing company in Peru. They toiled over hot ovens at an Indianapolis glass-maker. They operated circular saws at a furniture plant in Evansville. Lewis Hine, a photographer hired by the National Child Labor Committee, captured images of many of those young Hoosiers and other child workers across the country. His photos helped fuel a wave of outcry and led to the first federal law regulating child labor.

Over the next century, technology evolved along with labor demands. Most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a workforce shortage for certain industries that limped through months of closures and limited customers.

Child labor violations increase post-COVID
As businesses reopened, they struggled to fill openings. Economists said the hiring challenges stemmed from factors such as older workers leaving the job market and people holding out for higher-paying jobs or opportunities with fewer COVID risks.

The debate over child labor regulations played out as the federal government reported a 69% increase in children employed illegally between 2018 and 2023. News reports surfaced of companies exploiting young workers around the country.

U.S. Sen. Todd Young, an Indiana Republican, filed the bipartisan “Stop Child Labor Act” to increase maximum fines and penalties and allow victims to file lawsuits. The 2023 bill never moved beyond its introduction in the Senate.

As employers in Indiana sought more and new workers, child labor violations, which hit a low during the pandemic, began to tick back up. In 2023, the year before state lawmakers approved the latest set of rollbacks, state child labor violations spiked at 19,690 — a 43% jump from 13,815 in 2015.

State violations were up across the board that year at places such as car washes, retail shops, restaurants and manufacturers. Those violations included teens working longer than allowed, during prohibited school hours and employers failing to register youth workers.

Indiana has seen a steady increase in the number of teens under 18 working hazardous occupations — jobs prohibited due to safety concerns. IndyStar's analysis found 178 violations for hazardous occupations in 2023, up from 19 in 2015.

The state also has seen an increase in labor violations involving children under 14, who are not legally permitted to work non-agricultural jobs.

'Nothing's ever really settled'
Amid pressure from businesses, state legislatures around the country have eased laws. The Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank, has tracked 16 states, including Indiana, rolling back restrictions since 2021.

“You have these two sides of an issue: How do we keep the economy going, and how do we protect future generations so that we have workers,” said Walker, the IU labor law professor. “And right now, across the board, or most states anyway, they're looking at keeping the economic wheels of commerce going.”

In Iowa, economic concerns from the restaurant and hospitality industry helped spur lawmakers to act in 2023, said Charlie Wishman, president of the Iowa Federation of Labor and AFL-CIO. The Iowa bill initially included exceptions allowing teenagers to work in mining and meat packing but fell in conflict with federal laws. It was later amended to remove some of the more dangerous exceptions.

“When you start to come after kids as a source of cheap labor, that is a moral issue for us,” Wishman said. “I know that we were supposed to have solved this 120, 140 years ago, but nothing's ever really settled in capitalism.”

Iowa teens can still work longer hours and serve alcohol in restaurants. But Wishman considers the changes to the original bill an example of how fighting back sometimes works.

“It wouldn't have happened without public pressure, public support that we did have to build organically,” Wishman said. “It was a fight that nobody ever even thought was going to happen, and it did.”

How Indiana lawmakers may change child labor laws in the future is unclear. There are no related bills in the 2025 legislative session, where lawmakers are focused on the two-year state budget and a new governor's agenda.

Culp, the state representative who authored the most recent changes, said he was satisfied they brought Indiana in line with federal law. But critics expect more business-friendly attempts to roll back regulations from the Republican-led Statehouse in the future.

“This time next year, we'll probably be talking at the same time and about some really ugly bills that'll come back up,” said Brett Voorhies, president of the Indiana AFL-CIO. “It's just gonna keep happening session after session after session.”
Click to expand...

Source: https://www.indystar.com/story/news...iana-as-regulations-were-relaxed/77512769007/

Diacanu · Feb 24, 2025

Coloratura said: ↑

Finally, child labor will be great(ly debilitating) again!

Lawmakers Roll Back Protections Amid Rising Child Labor Safety Violations in Indiana

Indystar said:

As Indiana’s part-time legislature returned to the Statehouse in January, a new law allowed another group of Hoosiers to spend more time in the workforce.

Those workers are teens, some as young as 14, filling low-level jobs at places like restaurants, seasonal attractions and retail stores. Many are taking jobs for the first time — or working longer hours — under a 2024 law that rolled back safety protections while making it harder to track how many children are in Indiana's workforce and where they are employed.

House Enrolled Act 1093 was approved last year after labor law violations involving teens hit a nine-year high in 2023, according to an IndyStar analysis. The legislation was the latest move to relax child labor restrictions in Indiana. As of Jan. 1, 16 and 17-year-olds can work the same hours as adults and are no longer restricted by school hours and days. They also can work overnight without an adult and perform hazardous agriculture jobs.

Most existing restrictions for 14- and 15-year-olds remain — they typically cannot work before 7 a.m. and after 7 p.m. — but some of those teens can now work during school hours. The new exemptions apply to students who've completed the eighth grade, graduated high school or have a child to support.

The bill drew outcry from advocacy groups and Democratic lawmakers concerned about businesses taking advantage of vulnerable children. But the author, state Rep. Kendell Culp, R-Rensselaer, said the legislation was about bringing Indiana in line with federal law and supporting parental rights.

“There always could be bad actors in any industry,” Culp said. “I understand the safeguards, but the government shouldn't be telling parents where their children should be working or when.”

Lauren Murfree, a policy analyst for the Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute, which has opposed changes to state labor laws, said the institute is supportive of good business owners. Her concern is that the changes could adversely impact youth, especially low-income children and those helping support their families.

“We are not supportive of individuals that are taking advantage of the system, taking advantage of individuals that don't know their rights, that are minors," said Murfree, who was injured on the job as a teen worker. "No matter what, employers are adults. There is a power difference there.”

Child well-being:How are kids in Indiana doing? Report shows overall child well-being metrics dropping

The debate over easing child labor regulations has surfaced frequently in the last five-plus years at the Indiana Statehouse. It's part of a national trend, primarily in Republican-led states, to help businesses struggling to find workers following the COVID-19 pandemic. But it started earlier in Indiana.

Changes to Indiana law since 2019 include:

Eliminating teen work permits

Shifting oversight from the Indiana Department of Education to the Indiana Department of Labor

Removing rest break requirements for minors

Exempting businesses employing fewer than five teens from registering them with the state

Ending citations for brief violations of work hour restrictions

In 2020, state lawmakers made one other key modification: They renamed the state’s Bureau of Child Labor to the Bureau of Youth Employment and replaced references to “child labor” in Indiana code with “youth employment."

Former state Rep. Randy Lyness, who sponsored the 2020 bill, explained the motivation: “Child labor gives it a bad connotation to start with," he said at the time. "We’re wanting to change it to employment of minors. It sounds a little better."

The moves in Indiana also support a new work-readiness philosophy encouraging young people to seek apprenticeships and employment opportunities while in school. The state’s new high school diplomas include work-based learning hour requirements. Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for a Republican president after the Biden administration, also calls for relaxing regulations to allow teenagers to work in hazardous jobs with parental consent and proper training.

While there are no bills filed this legislative session that appear to directly impact Indiana’s child labor laws, past proposals have some lawmakers and advocates wondering where Indiana might go next.

Why Bub's Burgers supports relaxing rules
Matt Frey, who owns Bub's Burgers restaurants in Westfield, Carmel, Zionsville and Bloomington, has been a longtime advocate for relaxing the state's rules. In 2024, he brought three of his teen workers from Zionsville to testify at the Statehouse about the benefits of having a job.

Frey knows his business isn't perfect. Some locations have run afoul of rules about hours, work permits and rest breaks in the past. Frey said he does his best to monitor and hire the right managers to ensure the laws are followed but believes many of the regulations are outdated.

“It needs to be modernized because there are so many kids that want and desire to work," Frey said. "And candidly, the parents want it, too.”

Frey tries to make sure teen jobs are a learning experience, not just a paycheck. He shares "Bubisms" with his teen employees who work jobs like ice cream scoopers and servers. They're things you should avoid in customer service, sales or an interview. A common example: Don't say "um" in response to a question.

Tradition of child labor
Long before there were state and federal regulations on when underage employees could work at places like Bub's, it was normal for children to have jobs.

The Industrial Revolution transformed workplaces. Children often sought jobs to support their families, sometimes working in factories where the demand for labor was high. There minors could perform hazardous jobs where they were easy to exploit, said Marquita Walker, an associate professor of labor studies at Indiana University.

“Children tend to work more cheaply. Children are also more compliant,” Walker said. “They don't argue with their supervisor or their boss, they generally just do what they're told.”

In Indiana, children in the early 1900s often worked long hours at dangerous jobs. They operated heavy machinery at a manufacturing company in Peru. They toiled over hot ovens at an Indianapolis glass-maker. They operated circular saws at a furniture plant in Evansville. Lewis Hine, a photographer hired by the National Child Labor Committee, captured images of many of those young Hoosiers and other child workers across the country. His photos helped fuel a wave of outcry and led to the first federal law regulating child labor.

Over the next century, technology evolved along with labor demands. Most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a workforce shortage for certain industries that limped through months of closures and limited customers.

Child labor violations increase post-COVID
As businesses reopened, they struggled to fill openings. Economists said the hiring challenges stemmed from factors such as older workers leaving the job market and people holding out for higher-paying jobs or opportunities with fewer COVID risks.

The debate over child labor regulations played out as the federal government reported a 69% increase in children employed illegally between 2018 and 2023. News reports surfaced of companies exploiting young workers around the country.

U.S. Sen. Todd Young, an Indiana Republican, filed the bipartisan “Stop Child Labor Act” to increase maximum fines and penalties and allow victims to file lawsuits. The 2023 bill never moved beyond its introduction in the Senate.

As employers in Indiana sought more and new workers, child labor violations, which hit a low during the pandemic, began to tick back up. In 2023, the year before state lawmakers approved the latest set of rollbacks, state child labor violations spiked at 19,690 — a 43% jump from 13,815 in 2015.

State violations were up across the board that year at places such as car washes, retail shops, restaurants and manufacturers. Those violations included teens working longer than allowed, during prohibited school hours and employers failing to register youth workers.

Indiana has seen a steady increase in the number of teens under 18 working hazardous occupations — jobs prohibited due to safety concerns. IndyStar's analysis found 178 violations for hazardous occupations in 2023, up from 19 in 2015.

The state also has seen an increase in labor violations involving children under 14, who are not legally permitted to work non-agricultural jobs.

'Nothing's ever really settled'
Amid pressure from businesses, state legislatures around the country have eased laws. The Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank, has tracked 16 states, including Indiana, rolling back restrictions since 2021.

“You have these two sides of an issue: How do we keep the economy going, and how do we protect future generations so that we have workers,” said Walker, the IU labor law professor. “And right now, across the board, or most states anyway, they're looking at keeping the economic wheels of commerce going.”

In Iowa, economic concerns from the restaurant and hospitality industry helped spur lawmakers to act in 2023, said Charlie Wishman, president of the Iowa Federation of Labor and AFL-CIO. The Iowa bill initially included exceptions allowing teenagers to work in mining and meat packing but fell in conflict with federal laws. It was later amended to remove some of the more dangerous exceptions.

“When you start to come after kids as a source of cheap labor, that is a moral issue for us,” Wishman said. “I know that we were supposed to have solved this 120, 140 years ago, but nothing's ever really settled in capitalism.”

Iowa teens can still work longer hours and serve alcohol in restaurants. But Wishman considers the changes to the original bill an example of how fighting back sometimes works.

“It wouldn't have happened without public pressure, public support that we did have to build organically,” Wishman said. “It was a fight that nobody ever even thought was going to happen, and it did.”

How Indiana lawmakers may change child labor laws in the future is unclear. There are no related bills in the 2025 legislative session, where lawmakers are focused on the two-year state budget and a new governor's agenda.

Culp, the state representative who authored the most recent changes, said he was satisfied they brought Indiana in line with federal law. But critics expect more business-friendly attempts to roll back regulations from the Republican-led Statehouse in the future.

“This time next year, we'll probably be talking at the same time and about some really ugly bills that'll come back up,” said Brett Voorhies, president of the Indiana AFL-CIO. “It's just gonna keep happening session after session after session.”
Click to expand...

Source: https://www.indystar.com/story/news...iana-as-regulations-were-relaxed/77512769007/
Click to expand...

I chopped and stacked firewood, therefore, get in that damned coal mine, you little bastids!

Ancalagon · Feb 24, 2025

Tuckerfan said: ↑

View attachment 85431

https://bsky.app/profile/pwnallthethings.bsky.social/post/3liq5wq4l4s2l
Click to expand...

Yep.

He fired the black man actually qualified for the job and replaced him with an unqualified white man who required a presidential waiver ‘because DEI’.

And the rubes lap it up.

Coloratura · Feb 24, 2025

Diacanu said: ↑

Coloratura said: ↑

Finally, child labor will be great(ly debilitating) again!

Lawmakers Roll Back Protections Amid Rising Child Labor Safety Violations in Indiana

Indystar said:

As Indiana’s part-time legislature returned to the Statehouse in January, a new law allowed another group of Hoosiers to spend more time in the workforce.

Those workers are teens, some as young as 14, filling low-level jobs at places like restaurants, seasonal attractions and retail stores. Many are taking jobs for the first time — or working longer hours — under a 2024 law that rolled back safety protections while making it harder to track how many children are in Indiana's workforce and where they are employed.

House Enrolled Act 1093 was approved last year after labor law violations involving teens hit a nine-year high in 2023, according to an IndyStar analysis. The legislation was the latest move to relax child labor restrictions in Indiana. As of Jan. 1, 16 and 17-year-olds can work the same hours as adults and are no longer restricted by school hours and days. They also can work overnight without an adult and perform hazardous agriculture jobs.

Most existing restrictions for 14- and 15-year-olds remain — they typically cannot work before 7 a.m. and after 7 p.m. — but some of those teens can now work during school hours. The new exemptions apply to students who've completed the eighth grade, graduated high school or have a child to support.

The bill drew outcry from advocacy groups and Democratic lawmakers concerned about businesses taking advantage of vulnerable children. But the author, state Rep. Kendell Culp, R-Rensselaer, said the legislation was about bringing Indiana in line with federal law and supporting parental rights.

“There always could be bad actors in any industry,” Culp said. “I understand the safeguards, but the government shouldn't be telling parents where their children should be working or when.”

Lauren Murfree, a policy analyst for the Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute, which has opposed changes to state labor laws, said the institute is supportive of good business owners. Her concern is that the changes could adversely impact youth, especially low-income children and those helping support their families.

“We are not supportive of individuals that are taking advantage of the system, taking advantage of individuals that don't know their rights, that are minors," said Murfree, who was injured on the job as a teen worker. "No matter what, employers are adults. There is a power difference there.”

Child well-being:How are kids in Indiana doing? Report shows overall child well-being metrics dropping

The debate over easing child labor regulations has surfaced frequently in the last five-plus years at the Indiana Statehouse. It's part of a national trend, primarily in Republican-led states, to help businesses struggling to find workers following the COVID-19 pandemic. But it started earlier in Indiana.

Changes to Indiana law since 2019 include:

Eliminating teen work permits

Shifting oversight from the Indiana Department of Education to the Indiana Department of Labor

Removing rest break requirements for minors

Exempting businesses employing fewer than five teens from registering them with the state

Ending citations for brief violations of work hour restrictions

In 2020, state lawmakers made one other key modification: They renamed the state’s Bureau of Child Labor to the Bureau of Youth Employment and replaced references to “child labor” in Indiana code with “youth employment."

Former state Rep. Randy Lyness, who sponsored the 2020 bill, explained the motivation: “Child labor gives it a bad connotation to start with," he said at the time. "We’re wanting to change it to employment of minors. It sounds a little better."

The moves in Indiana also support a new work-readiness philosophy encouraging young people to seek apprenticeships and employment opportunities while in school. The state’s new high school diplomas include work-based learning hour requirements. Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for a Republican president after the Biden administration, also calls for relaxing regulations to allow teenagers to work in hazardous jobs with parental consent and proper training.

While there are no bills filed this legislative session that appear to directly impact Indiana’s child labor laws, past proposals have some lawmakers and advocates wondering where Indiana might go next.

Why Bub's Burgers supports relaxing rules
Matt Frey, who owns Bub's Burgers restaurants in Westfield, Carmel, Zionsville and Bloomington, has been a longtime advocate for relaxing the state's rules. In 2024, he brought three of his teen workers from Zionsville to testify at the Statehouse about the benefits of having a job.

Frey knows his business isn't perfect. Some locations have run afoul of rules about hours, work permits and rest breaks in the past. Frey said he does his best to monitor and hire the right managers to ensure the laws are followed but believes many of the regulations are outdated.

“It needs to be modernized because there are so many kids that want and desire to work," Frey said. "And candidly, the parents want it, too.”

Frey tries to make sure teen jobs are a learning experience, not just a paycheck. He shares "Bubisms" with his teen employees who work jobs like ice cream scoopers and servers. They're things you should avoid in customer service, sales or an interview. A common example: Don't say "um" in response to a question.

Tradition of child labor
Long before there were state and federal regulations on when underage employees could work at places like Bub's, it was normal for children to have jobs.

The Industrial Revolution transformed workplaces. Children often sought jobs to support their families, sometimes working in factories where the demand for labor was high. There minors could perform hazardous jobs where they were easy to exploit, said Marquita Walker, an associate professor of labor studies at Indiana University.

“Children tend to work more cheaply. Children are also more compliant,” Walker said. “They don't argue with their supervisor or their boss, they generally just do what they're told.”

In Indiana, children in the early 1900s often worked long hours at dangerous jobs. They operated heavy machinery at a manufacturing company in Peru. They toiled over hot ovens at an Indianapolis glass-maker. They operated circular saws at a furniture plant in Evansville. Lewis Hine, a photographer hired by the National Child Labor Committee, captured images of many of those young Hoosiers and other child workers across the country. His photos helped fuel a wave of outcry and led to the first federal law regulating child labor.

Over the next century, technology evolved along with labor demands. Most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a workforce shortage for certain industries that limped through months of closures and limited customers.

Child labor violations increase post-COVID
As businesses reopened, they struggled to fill openings. Economists said the hiring challenges stemmed from factors such as older workers leaving the job market and people holding out for higher-paying jobs or opportunities with fewer COVID risks.

The debate over child labor regulations played out as the federal government reported a 69% increase in children employed illegally between 2018 and 2023. News reports surfaced of companies exploiting young workers around the country.

U.S. Sen. Todd Young, an Indiana Republican, filed the bipartisan “Stop Child Labor Act” to increase maximum fines and penalties and allow victims to file lawsuits. The 2023 bill never moved beyond its introduction in the Senate.

As employers in Indiana sought more and new workers, child labor violations, which hit a low during the pandemic, began to tick back up. In 2023, the year before state lawmakers approved the latest set of rollbacks, state child labor violations spiked at 19,690 — a 43% jump from 13,815 in 2015.

State violations were up across the board that year at places such as car washes, retail shops, restaurants and manufacturers. Those violations included teens working longer than allowed, during prohibited school hours and employers failing to register youth workers.

Indiana has seen a steady increase in the number of teens under 18 working hazardous occupations — jobs prohibited due to safety concerns. IndyStar's analysis found 178 violations for hazardous occupations in 2023, up from 19 in 2015.

The state also has seen an increase in labor violations involving children under 14, who are not legally permitted to work non-agricultural jobs.

'Nothing's ever really settled'
Amid pressure from businesses, state legislatures around the country have eased laws. The Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank, has tracked 16 states, including Indiana, rolling back restrictions since 2021.

“You have these two sides of an issue: How do we keep the economy going, and how do we protect future generations so that we have workers,” said Walker, the IU labor law professor. “And right now, across the board, or most states anyway, they're looking at keeping the economic wheels of commerce going.”

In Iowa, economic concerns from the restaurant and hospitality industry helped spur lawmakers to act in 2023, said Charlie Wishman, president of the Iowa Federation of Labor and AFL-CIO. The Iowa bill initially included exceptions allowing teenagers to work in mining and meat packing but fell in conflict with federal laws. It was later amended to remove some of the more dangerous exceptions.

“When you start to come after kids as a source of cheap labor, that is a moral issue for us,” Wishman said. “I know that we were supposed to have solved this 120, 140 years ago, but nothing's ever really settled in capitalism.”

Iowa teens can still work longer hours and serve alcohol in restaurants. But Wishman considers the changes to the original bill an example of how fighting back sometimes works.

“It wouldn't have happened without public pressure, public support that we did have to build organically,” Wishman said. “It was a fight that nobody ever even thought was going to happen, and it did.”

How Indiana lawmakers may change child labor laws in the future is unclear. There are no related bills in the 2025 legislative session, where lawmakers are focused on the two-year state budget and a new governor's agenda.

Culp, the state representative who authored the most recent changes, said he was satisfied they brought Indiana in line with federal law. But critics expect more business-friendly attempts to roll back regulations from the Republican-led Statehouse in the future.

“This time next year, we'll probably be talking at the same time and about some really ugly bills that'll come back up,” said Brett Voorhies, president of the Indiana AFL-CIO. “It's just gonna keep happening session after session after session.”
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Source: https://www.indystar.com/story/news...iana-as-regulations-were-relaxed/77512769007/
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I chopped and stacked firewood, therefore, get in that damned coal mine, you little bastids!

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That seems to be the mindset! I was working a full time job at 14, and I hated it, but we needed every penny we could get to survive.

These people saying "kids are too soft today" are the people who HATED being forced to work as children, but they've turned that hatred into some kind of bullshit life lesson:

"I turned out fine!"
"No you didn't, Chet, you voted for a Nazi and got angry at a woman who has a penis and you know this because you tried to pull down her shorts while she was walking into the bathroom, you're not fine, you're fucking weird and no one likes you."

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