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Washington, DC, August 23, 2007—Amid the developing controversy
surrounding Kid Nation, a new fall reality show on CBS, in which
40 children were relocated to New Mexico to function in an
adult-free society, child labor advocates are calling the show
exploitation and abusive. The National Consumers League (NCL), a
Washington, DC-based consumer and worker advocacy organization,
says the launch of such an outrageous new reality show is just
another sad example of how out of touch American child labor
laws are.
According to news reports, in the new television series,
children as young as eight years old were grouped with older
teens to scruff out an existence in a parent-free, Lord of the
Flies inspired society, in an isolated New Mexico community with
little contact from the outside world. Rumors of injuries, of
children performing illegal occupations, and of other
exploitation have earned scrutiny of the program in the weeks
before its debut.
Child labor advocates claim, however, that aside from whether or
not child labor laws were broken, there are serious issues
presented by entertainment of this nature. Whether they are
child actors or reality show participants, there is insufficient
protection for kids in the entertainment industry, according to
NCL. Kid Nation has raised questions about the adequacy of state
child labor laws and has brought attention to television
studios’ ability to circumvent them by filming in less-stringent
locales.
“If there’s a question of application of state child labor laws,
we had better make the laws clearer,” said Darlene Adkins, NCL
vice president. “But, what is really needed is national child
labor protections for children involved in the entertainment
industry.”
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is the primary federal
statute dealing with child labor. The child labor provisions of
the act do not apply to children employed as actors or in
related activities. The result is that it is left up to states
to regulate child labor in the entertainment industry. According
to NCL, state protection of children is lackluster.
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More than one third of the states (19) do not regulate
children working in entertainment whatsoever.
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Twenty-five states do not even require the most basic of
regulation: the requirement for a work permit.
California has the most extensive child labor protections in the
nation for children working in entertainment. Most
other states have lagged far behind, which is why the
advent of increasing entertainment productions outside of
California is so alarming to advocates.
States have been busy offering new incentives or increasing the
level of existing incentives for filming in their jurisdictions.
Some states are launching efforts to develop production
facilities to lure more of the production process. For example,
in New Mexico, there are plans to build a $60 million film, TV,
and digital media production facility in Albuquerque. New York
is working on a studio complex.
“While some states are scrambling for a piece of the business,
only a handful have bothered to adequately address the safety,
education, financial protection, working conditions, morals, and
health of children working in entertainment,” said Adkins.
To learn more about the National Consumers League’s work in
child labor, visit
www.stopchildlabor.org. |
