The Centre for Child Rights and Business and CORE published Child Labor in the United States: A Call for Corporate Responsibility (November 2024), which provides an overview of the status of child labour in the US, key learnings on the ground, and recommendations for corporate action.
Human Level’s Take:
- Child labour in the U.S. is sky high. The number of children in child labour increased by 37% in 2022 compared to 2021, and by 283% since 2015 - according to the US Department of Labor (DOL). And the real number of children in child labour is likely to be much higher than reported figures.
- Since 2022, the Centre for Child Rights and Business has conducted a range of assessments across the U.S. in a wide range of sectors. They found that there is low awareness of child labour risks, particularly among suppliers; heightened risks in sectors relying on staffing agencies or with high worker turnover; and silenced, fearful workers, often due to immigration concerns and lack of grievance mechanisms. Weak corporate policies and inappropriate age regulations exacerbate the problem, highlighting the need for stronger awareness, training, and protections for vulnerable families and children amidst ongoing migration trends.
- Companies: there are four key steps to take. Develop a clear policy commitment embedded in governance structures to guide employees and suppliers, with defined metrics and accountability. Implement processes to identify, prevent, and mitigate child labour risks, including risk assessments, child-centred approaches, supplier collaboration, and ongoing monitoring. Establish remediation mechanisms prioritizing the child’s best interests, involving independent experts and sharing responsibility for remediation costs with suppliers. And last but not least, collaborate with industry peers, child rights experts, and multi-stakeholder initiatives to address the systemic and structural causes of child labour.
Some key takeaways:
- Child labour is happening on our doorstep: The report highlights how child labour persists across global supply chains. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), 160 million children between ages 5 and 17 are engaged in child labour, with about half of them working in hazardous conditions. Child labour is not confined to the world’s poorest regions. For instance, the US has seen a significant rise in child labour violations. According to the US Department of Labor (DOL), the number of minors employed in violation of child labour laws increased by 37% in 2022 compared to 2021, and by 283% since 2015. These figures represent only reported cases, with the real number likely to be much higher. Despite this, since 2022, several states have rolled back child labour laws - lowering standards below federal levels. Furthermore, unaccompanied and undocumented minors, who are primarily from Central America, are particularly vulnerable to labour exploitation because their unresolved immigration status or undocumented status prevents them from accessing federal support programmes. Their vulnerability is exacerbated by language barriers that prevents them from understanding their working rights and raising complaints.
- Key learnings on the ground: From their work tackling child labour on the ground in the US, the Centre for Child Rights and Business highlights several key learnings on the challenges of implementing effective human rights due diligence (HRDD) in relation to child labour. These are taken directly from the report: 1) awareness of child labour risks is low, especially for many suppliers who are unaware of the risks and believe that child labour happens in other countries and not in the US; 2) certain vendors are riskier, such as those who rely on staffing agencies or with high turnover; 3) workers are silenced and fearful. Many workers are afraid to raise concerns because of their immigration status and fears that they would make the situation worse for any underage children working in the facility. In addition, awareness of grievance mechanisms are almost non-existent; 4) corporate child labour policies are weak, which means that the message is not getting through to their supply chains; 5) raising or reducing the minimum age is not the solution. Reducing the minimum age will increase the number of children whose right to education is violated and increasing the minimum age will increase the number of working-age children (16,17) pushed into hazardous and informal work; and 6) migration into the US is here to stay, which means there is a need for stronger awareness, training and policies around child labour and continuous protection of vulnerable families and children.
- Recommendations for companies: The report provides four recommendations for action, which have been taken directly from the report: some text
- (1) Developing an appropriate policy commitment that is embedded throughout the business: It should provide clear guidance for employees and suppliers and enhance monitoring and accountability through defined metrics and roles. A robust governance structure is critical, with roles and responsibilities and defined and regular monitoring and reporting baked into the process.
- (2) Implementing processes to identify, prevent and account for child labour impacts occurring in own operations and value chain: Measures include: 1) conducting ongoing risk assessments to identify child labour risks and impacts; 2) integrating a child-centred approach into prevention and mitigation measures, as well as the corporate culture; 3) sharing practical guidance with employees and suppliers on how to effectively identify and prevent child labour and exploitative working conditions in their operations and supply chains; 4) reviewing own purchasing practices and how they might contribute to enhancing risk factors; 5) providing an opportunity for suppliers to address child labour risks and impacts identified. This is because a zero-tolerance approach that immediately terminates business relationships when child labour is found is not always effective and may encourage factories to hide violations; 6) monitoring whether efforts to prevent and address child labour impacts are effective over time and collaborating with suppliers to achieve improvement; and 7) establishing processes for ongoing dialogue-based communication, ideally directly involving key stakeholders on the ground.
- (3) Introducing a child labour remediation mechanism: These mechanisms should clearly outline measures to take when a case of child labour is found, including requiring suppliers to have a robust remediation plan, and prioritising the best interests of the child or young worker. In addition, engaging independent child rights experts and collaborating with relevant stakeholders is crucial for providing appropriate remediation on a case-by-case basis. Furthermore, it is important that buyers also take responsibility. Therefore, companies should clearly outline their expectations to business partners on how the responsibility for remediation costs will be shared.
- (4) Joining forces with others: The root causes of child labour are complex, multilayered and structural, and cannot be tackled by one individual company alone. Engagement with child rights experts and collaboration with industry associations and multi-stakeholder initiative is vital for pooling resources and sharing knowledge.
