There is work to be done.

By Michael O'Keefe

There is work to be done.

But who is going to do it?

A 13-year old boy, originally from Mexico but now residing in Southern Michigan, knows the answer. Hunched over in a 20 square mile cucumber field, the boy is only halfway through his 12-hour day, and it is already over 90 degrees Fahrenheit outside. His mother, father and two sisters are both working beside him.

Now the real question comes. Who takes care of this little boy, who works harder than most adults?

According to humanrightswatch.org, there are numerous states in the U.S., which have agricultural programs that support child labor.

Many of these children have few rights, including basic rights such as not working under hazardous or overly strenuous work.

Some more serious accusations include not providing drinking water for the workers, as well as below minimum wage pay.

Also, many of these children are students. These children are also losing out on their education while working well into the school season.

According to stopchildlabornow.org, the minimum national age for doing hazardous agricultural work is 16.

Some of these activities, which are illegal for those under 16, include, driving a bus, truck or tractor, herding bulls or boars, moving chemicals and working inside enclosed areas.

According to an article on humanrightswatch.org, Zama Coursen-Neff, the director for Children’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, said that she thinks child laborers “deserve the same rights as the teens working at McDonalds.”

She also said she believes that many of the laborers are working under conditions that are illegal under international law.

The U.S. Department of Labor homepage lists 26 states that allow those under the legal age to work, but offers no way of verifying the age of laborers.

And although a majority of the states keep their minimum working age above the federal minimum, most states also allow special working papers, which allow children to do so any way.

According to ncbi.org, child labor accounts for over 20,000 worker’s compensation injuries, 200,000 injuries, and over 70 deaths each year.

States, such as Nevada, offer permits to children younger that 14, but does not require that children over 14 get working papers.

And although the laws may be in blatant violation of not only international, but also federal laws, the impact on not only the economy but society as well may be too great for immediate change.