Illinois AFL-CIO stands behind state’s updated child labor regulations

(The Center Square) – For the first time in more than a century, Illinois has updated the state’s child labor regulations, a move the AFL-CIO applauds.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 3646 with additional working conditions for children 15 or younger, among them outlawing minors from working more than 18 hours per school week and over 40 hours during weeks when school is out. The new guidelines also add such industries as cannabis dispensaries, live adult entertainment businesses, gambling establishments and gun ranges to the list of workplaces off limits to them.

Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea insists the timing for all the changes couldn’t be better.

“Labor was very happy to see this bill signed,” Drea told The Center Square. “The old law was written in the industrial revolution and it was industrial based law. They tried to amend it and make it fit into a service economy and it just wasn’t working anymore. It was conflicting and it was contradictory in places. This was a long ...