The Child Labor Amendment is a proposed and still-pending amendment to the United States Constitution that would specifically authorize Congress to regulate "labor of persons under eighteen years of age". The amendment was proposed in 1924 following Supreme Court rulings in 1918 and 1922 that federal laws regulating and taxing goods produced by employees under the ages of 14 and 16 were unconstitutional.
The majority of the state governments ratified the amendment by the mid 1930s, however it has not been ratified by the requisite 3⁄4 of the states according to Article V of the Constitution and none have ratified it after 1937. Interest in the amendment waned following the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which implemented federal regulation of child labor with the Supreme Court's approval in 1941.
Read more about Child Labor Amendment: Background, Text, Congressional History, Actions in The State Legislatures, Judicial History
Famous quotes containing the words child, labor and/or amendment:
“Your child has the capacity to care for more than one person at a time. The affection she feels for her caregiver doesn’t diminish the love she feels for you. Your caregiver isn’t your competition. She is your ally.”
—Amy Laura Dombro (20th century)
“Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“[Asserting] important First Amendment rights ... why should [executions] be the one area that is conducted behind closed doors?... Why shouldn’t executions be public?”
—Phil Donahue (b. 1935)