[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 6, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E109-E110]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E109]]
PROBLEMS FOR TEENS WHO WORK: WE NEED THE ``YOUNG AMERICAN WORKERS BILL 
                              OF RIGHTS''

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 6, 2001

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, during the 106th Congress, over 60 Members 
of Congress joined me in support of comprehensive domestic child labor 
law reform which would protect our children in the workplace. This 
bipartisan legislation--entitled ``The Young American Workers' Bill of 
Rights Act'' (H.R. 2119 in the 106th Congress)--would assist both 
families and teenagers' struggling with the competing interests of 
holding a job while gaining an education. The legislation will also 
reduce the incidence of injuries and deaths of minors at the workplace. 
I look forward to reintroducing this important bill early in the 107th 
Congress.
  As we continue our efforts to combat the injustice of international 
child labor, we must not forget our own children here. The exploitation 
of child labor is unfortunately not a thing of the past in our country. 
It has become a growing problem that continues to jeopardize the 
health, education, development and lives of many of our children.
  People often associate the evils of child labor only with Third World 
countries. But American teenagers are also negatively impacted by 
exploitation on the job. Our economy has changed considerably since the 
days when teenagers held after school jobs at a ``Mom and Pop'' corner 
drug store or soda fountain. In today's low unemployment economy, 
teenagers are hired to work part-time to fill-in or to hold jobs 
previously held by adults in full-time positions. Many high-school 
students are working 30 and even 40 hours a week, and often they are 
working well past midnight on school nights. Research shows that long 
hours on the job take away time needed for schoolwork and family 
responsibilities.
  Mr. Speaker, studies have shown that the majority of children and 
teenagers who hold jobs in the United States are not working to support 
their families, but rather are employed to earn extra spending money. 
Employment is important in teaching young people the value of work, and 
I see nothing wrong with minors working to earn extra spending money. I 
think it is a serious problem, however, when teenagers work more hours 
for spending money than they spend working for their education. It is 
important for children to learn the value of work, but a solid 
education, not after school jobs, are the key to a successful future. 
We need to set sensible limits on the hours that minors are permitted 
to work during the school year so that our children can focus on their 
primary job--earning a good education.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to call the attention of my colleagues to 
an article which appeared in the New York Times recently entitled 
``Problems Seen For Teenagers Who Hold Jobs'' which was written by 
Steven Greenhouse. The article discusses some of the problems many 
teenagers face when they hold a job during the school year. According 
to the article, a study of the National Academy of Sciences found that 
when teenagers work more than 20 hours a week, it often leads to lower 
grades, higher alcohol use and too little time with parents and 
families.
  Mr. Speaker, I will place the entire text of this article in the 
Record, but I would like to call special attention to a couple of 
paragraphs that are particularly indicative of the problems we face:

       ``One recent Friday, Alicia, [a] waitress, a senior at 
     Governor Livingston Regional High School in Berkeley Heights, 
     N.J., acknowledged that she had put in a grueling week. 
     Alicia, who works at Johnny Rockets, a 1950's-style diner at 
     the Short Hills Mall, had missed one day of school that week 
     and arrived late the four other days. The reason was that she 
     had to work past midnight on Tuesday and Thursday, and that 
     came after working from 10:30 a.m. until 12:30 a.m. on 
     Saturday and Sunday.
       ``It's fun, and I get a lot of money--I made $240 on 
     Saturday alone,'' she said, noting that she sometimes earns 
     $40 in tips in an hour when its busy.
       `` `I'm not doing good in school this semester,' Alicia 
     acknowledged, her tone half rueful, half isn't-this-cool. 
     `Because of work, I come into school late or I stay home 
     because I'm so tired.'
       ``Joan Tonto, one of Alicia's teachers, said, `She's tired 
     when she comes into school, and by sixth period she's too 
     tired to work on problems in class. I've talked to Alicia 
     about how her job is affecting her in school, and she says, 
     `I'm making a lot of money, Mrs. Tonto.' ''

  Mr. Speaker, it is clear to me from reading these excerpts and from 
reviewing a recent study by the National Academy of Sciences, that it 
is time for us to carefully weigh the benefits of children working 
against the costs that too much work can take on a child's academic 
performance and healthy development. At what point does the desire to 
earn extra spending money negatively effect the ability of a child to 
perform to her or his learning potential at school? According to Steven 
Greenhouse, 16- and 17-year-olds are working 40 hours a week on top of 
30 hours in the classroom and in many cases education is taking a back 
seat to after school employment.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that the entire article ``Problems Seen For 
Teenagers Who Hold Jobs'' be placed in the Record. I urge my colleagues 
to read this article and to join me in cosponsoring ``The Young 
American Workers' Bill of Rights Act.'' This legislation will ensure 
that the job opportunities available to our youth are meaningful, safe, 
and healthy, and our bill will encourage--not discourage--their healthy 
development and will give them the tools to help prepare them for a 
productive adult life.

                [From the New York Times, Jan. 29, 2001]

               Problems Seen for Teenagers Who Hold Jobs

                         (By Steven Greenhouse)

       Some weekdays, Alicia Gunther, 17, works past midnight as a 
     waitress at a New Jersey mall, and she readily admits that 
     her work often hurts her grades and causes her to sleep 
     through first period.
       Jason Ferry, a high school junior, loves working 30 hours a 
     week as a cashier at a Connecticut supermarket, but he 
     acknowledges that when he gets home from work at 9:30 p.m. he 
     usually does not have enough time to study for big tests.
       For decades, the conventional wisdom has been that it is 
     great for teenagers like these to hold after-school jobs 
     because they teach responsibility, provide pocket money and 
     keep the teenagers out of trouble.
       But in a nation where more than five million teenagers 
     under 18 work, a growing body of research is challenging the 
     conventional wisdom and concluding that working long hours 
     often undermines teenagers' education and overall 
     development.
       In the most important study, two arms of the National 
     Academy of Sciences--the National Research Council and the 
     Institute of Medicine--found that when teenagers work more 
     than 20 hours a week, the work often leads to lower grades, 
     higher alcohol use and too little time with their parents and 
     families.
       Influenced by such studies, lawmakers in Connecticut, 
     Massachusetts, Alabama and other states have pushed in recent 
     years to tighten laws regulating how many hours teenagers can 
     work and how late they can work. In Massachusetts, several 
     lawmakers are seeking to limit the maximum amount of time 16-
     year-olds and 17-year-olds can work during school weeks to 30 
     hours, down from the current maximum of 48 hours.
       In 1998, Connecticut lawmakers reduced the maximum number 
     of hours 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds can work during school 
     weeks to 32 hours, down from 48, and last year they debated 
     imposing fines on employers who violate those limits. In New 
     York, students that age are allowed to work up to 28 hours 
     during school weeks, while in New Jersey the maximum is 40 
     hours.
       The impetus to tighten restrictions grows largely out of 
     concerns about education, especially fears that American 
     students are falling short on tougher standards and are 
     lagging behind foreign students in comparative tests. While 
     there are myriad reasons for poor school performance, 
     legislators seeking tougher restrictions say American 
     students would certainly do better if they placed more 
     emphasis on work inside school and less emphasis on working 
     outside school.
       ``We have 16- and 17-year-olds working 40 hours a week on 
     top of 30 hours in the classroom,'' said Peter J. Larkin, the 
     Massachusetts state representative sponsoring the bill to 
     reduce the number of hours teenagers can work. ``Something 
     has to give, and academics seems to be taking a back seat. 
     Sure there is pressure against the bill from employers who 
     need teenage workers to help in a full-employment economy, 
     but many other employers are complaining that the graduates 
     of our high schools are not up to par.''
       With the national jobless rate at 4 percent, near its 
     lowest point in three decades, many employers are eager to 
     hire teenagers and say it would be bad for the economy and 
     for their businesses to limit the number of hours teenagers 
     can work.
       In many states, those pushing for tougher restrictions 
     include pediatricians' groups, P.T.A.'s, women's clubs, 
     teachers' unions and the National Consumer League. Those 
     opposing tighter restrictions usually include business groups 
     and the many parents who see benefits in teenagers' working, 
     and who have warm memories of their own first jobs as soda 
     jerks or supermarket clerks.
       Studies by the National Research Council and professors at 
     Stanford University, Temple University and the University of 
     Minnesota found negative effects when 16- and 17-year-olds 
     work more than 20 hours a week. These studies concluded that 
     students who work long hours often do not have enough time or 
     energy for homework and miss out on social and intellectual 
     development gained from participating in school clubs and 
     athletic teams.
       Several studies also found that 16-year-olds and 17-year-
     olds who work long hours tend to use alcohol more than others 
     in their age group, largely because they have extra pocket 
     money and copy older co-workers.
       ``It's probably safe for kids to work 10 hours or less each 
     week when they're in

[[Page E110]]

     school, but probably not such a good idea for them to work 
     more than 20 hours,'' said Laurence Steinberg, a professor of 
     psychology at Temple University. ``That's when we and other 
     researchers find decreased academic performance and decreased 
     engagement in school.''
       But many child development experts, teachers and parents 
     said working a modest amount could be valuable for teenagers, 
     teaching responsibility and how to work with others, as well 
     as contributing money to financially strapped households.
       ``It's a positive thing,'' said Ted Simonelli, a guidance 
     counselor at Linden High School in New Jersey. ``They're 
     learning to be on time, they're learning to be good 
     employees, they're learning a skill that they can trade on 
     when they graduate. Many of the students in the top half of 
     our class work after school.''
       For teenagers in poor city neighborhoods, several studies 
     have found, a job can be especially beneficial because it 
     fosters discipline and provides needed role models.
       Supporters of teenage work point to success stories like 
     Josh Hershey, 16, of West Hartford, Conn., who took a job at 
     an after-school child care center because it would help 
     prepare him for the career to which he aspires: teaching. His 
     job helped his schoolwork, he said, because it forced him to 
     procrastinate less and focus more when doing homework.
       ``There are a lot of benefits to students' working in 
     moderation,'' said Jeylan T. Mortimer, a sociology professor 
     at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. ``But most 
     sociologists and psychologists would say that it's an 
     excessive load for full-time students to work 25 or 30 hours 
     a week if you think it's important for young people to 
     participate in extracurricular activities, develop 
     friendships and spend time with their families.''
       A newly released study by the Department of Labor shows 
     that 58 percent of American 16-year-olds hold jobs sometime 
     during the school year, not including informal work like 
     baby-sitting, while another study shows that one-third of 
     high-school juniors work 20 or more hours each week. The 
     Department of Labor also found that slightly more than two-
     fifths of 15-year-olds work, as do one in five 14-year-olds.
       Several economists said the percentage of teenagers who 
     work has remained at the same level in recent years. Although 
     the statistics are sketchy, these experts said they believed 
     that the number of hours students work has increased, partly 
     because of the tight labor market.
       A new study by the International Labor Organization showed 
     that American teenagers work far more than teenagers in most 
     other countries. The study found that 53 percent of American 
     teenagers, from the ages of 16 to 19, work in any given week. 
     In Japan, 18 percent of teenagers aged 15 through 19 work, 
     while in Germany, 30.8 percent of teenagers in that age 
     bracket work.
       One recent Friday, Alicia, the waitress, a senior at 
     Governor Livingston Regional High School in Berkeley Heights, 
     N.J., acknowledged that she had put in a grueling week. 
     Alicia, who works at Johnny Rockets, a 1950's-style diner at 
     the Short Hills Mall, had missed one day of school that week 
     and arrived late the four other days.
       The reason was that she had to work past midnight on 
     Tuesday and Thursday, and that came after working from 10:30 
     a.m. until 12:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
       ``It's fun, and I get a lot of money--I made $240 on 
     Saturday alone,'' she said, noting that she sometimes earns 
     $40 in tips in an hour when it is busy.
       ``I'm not doing good in school this semester,'' Alicia 
     acknowledged, her tone half rueful, half isn't-this-cool. 
     ``Because of work, I come into school late or I stay home 
     because I'm so tired.''
       Joan Tonto, one of Alicia's teachers, said, ``She's tired 
     when she comes into school, and by sixth period she's too 
     tired to work on problems in class. I've talked to Alicia 
     about how her job is affecting her in school, and she says, 
     `I'm making a lot of money, Mrs. Tonto.' ''
       Teenage labor dates from colonial times, when many youths 
     served as apprentices or helped sow and harvest. But with the 
     nation's rapid industrialization came heightened concerns 
     about teenage labor because of the increased emphasis on 
     education and the many exposes about businesses exploiting 
     children.
       Still, many parents urge their children to work, saying it 
     is better than sitting around watching television.
       Laura Stifel, whose son Jason Ferry has the 30-hour-a-week 
     supermarket job in Southington, Conn., saw a benefit to 
     teenagers' working. ``I think it's great that kids work 
     because it leaves them with less time to get in trouble or be 
     out on the street,'' she said.
       But when she began to worry that Jason's $7.75-an-hour job 
     was taking a toll on his grades, Ms. Stifel barred him from 
     using his car until he got his grades back up.
       In the summer of 1999, a 16-year-old Southington High 
     School student working at an amusement park died when he 
     stepped too close to the amusement ride he was tending and 
     was dragged underneath. About 70 teenagers die each year in 
     work-related accidents, and safety experts say these 
     accidents occur because teenage workers often receive little 
     training or supervision.
       Federal regulations bar 12-year-olds and 13-year-olds from 
     working in most jobs, with one exception being delivering 
     newspapers. Federal rules prohibit 14- and 15-year-olds from 
     working more than three hours or past 7 p.m. on school days. 
     The federal government places no restrictions on the hours 
     16- and 17-year-olds can work, leaving the matter to the 
     states.
       Jeffrey Ellenberg, who owns a dry-cleaning shop in West 
     Hartford, likes hiring teenagers.
       ``We used to have quite a few more high school students 
     working,'' he said. ``Unfortunately, in this economy we can't 
     get more of them. The advantage is you can train them to do 
     what full-timers do, but you don't have to pay them the full-
     time wages and benefits.''
       At Mr. Ellenberg's shop, Rebecca Gohsler, 16, works two or 
     three afternoons a week behind the counter and 10 hours on 
     Saturdays. Although Rebecca's guidance counselor frets that 
     Rebecca's job is pulling down her grades and pulling her away 
     from extracurricular activities, Rebecca sees her $8-an-hour 
     job as one of the best things in her life. She likes the 
     spending money, likes chatting with customers and likes the 
     sense of independence.
       Rebecca, who hopes to become a marine biologist, said her 
     job sometimes undercut her schoolwork. ``If I just came home 
     from work and I have a paper to write, there is a chance I 
     might not spend as much time on it or put in enough effort,'' 
     she said.
       Many educators say parents should crack down on their 
     teenagers' jobs if grades start to languish. Carol Hawkins 
     did just that last spring, ordering her son Jon, 16, a junior 
     at Governor Livingston High, to cut back his 20 hours a week 
     pumping gas when his grades started to suffer.
       ``This year I've been able to manage my work and my school 
     better,'' Jon said. ``But sometimes I still have to study 
     until 2 in the morning.''
       Several studies have found that 20 percent to 30 percent of 
     teenage workers contribute to family expenses. Most use their 
     earnings for cars, gasoline, clothes, cosmetics, cell phones, 
     pagers and movies.
       Dawne Naples, a guidance counselor at Southington High, 
     said she advised Jason Ferry, when his grades were suffering, 
     that it was unwise to work 30 hours a week, largely to pay 
     for his car and gasoline. `` `The car will get you around 
     town,' I told him, `but what's going to get you beyond 
     Southington High?' '' she said.

     

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