GOP Gov. Seeks Repeal of mid-1800s Child Labor Laws, Wanted 12-Year-Olds to Toil
Maine Governor's desire harks back to the the 'Hungry Forties' in Victorian England, when children worked in factories or as chimney sweeps | Gov. Paul LePage's goal of making it easier for minors to work will continue in January when the Department of Labor proposes streamlining the work permit process despite previous failed attempts to do so. Child labor in Maine has been regulated by state government since the mid-1800s and a key component of those regulations requires school superintendents to issue work permits for school-age children offered a job. Now the Department of Labor has proposed being the first contact for work permits during the summer months. The initiative falls short of LePage's stated desire to lower the legal working age to 12, but reprises previous unsuccessful attempts to make it easier for Mainers younger than 16 to earn a paycheck.