State officials note there has been an upward trend in child labor complaints in Wisconsin since 2018, while the U.S. Labor Department says its seen a 69% increase in cases of children being illegally employed during the same period, according to a report from Wisconsin Public Radio.
The federal government is currently investigating over 600 cases of possible child labor exploitation. In the last fiscal year alone, the Department of Labor identified 835 companies operating in violation of child labor laws affecting 3,800 children and saw a 26% increase in minors employed in hazardous occupations.
The Department of Labor recently resolved one of the largest child labor cases in the department’s history following an investigation of Wisconsin-based Packers Sanitation Services Inc.
