<story><title>Hyundai investigating child labor in its U.S. supply chain</title><url>https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/exclusive-korean-auto-giant-hyundai-investigating-child-labor-its-us-supply-2022-10-19/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>dataflow</author><text>&amp;gt; The children can&amp;#x27;t consent. That&amp;#x27;s essentially child slave labor.&lt;p&gt;Minors can totally consent to labor; it&amp;#x27;s pretty common too (see: child actors). The issue with children working in factories is a (1) safety and (2) exploitation issue, not a consent issue—in fact even adult parents (who can presumably consent) aren&amp;#x27;t allowed to get exemptions for their children in some high-risk situations either. There are lots of exemptions for child labor though, especially in areas where safety and exploitation risks are deemed to be lower. Worth reading: &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.dol.gov&amp;#x2F;general&amp;#x2F;topic&amp;#x2F;youthlabor&amp;#x2F;exemptionsflsa&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.dol.gov&amp;#x2F;general&amp;#x2F;topic&amp;#x2F;youthlabor&amp;#x2F;exemptionsflsa&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;Edit to clarify (since some people seem to be reading this different): this isn&amp;#x27;t &lt;i&gt;my&lt;/i&gt; opinion, support, or opposition on what I believe children can or should consent to; I&amp;#x27;m just discussing labor laws here.</text></item><item><author>jmull</author><text>Here&amp;#x27;s a link from the article to more information on the child labor violations:&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.reuters.com&amp;#x2F;world&amp;#x2F;us&amp;#x2F;hyundai-kia-auto-parts-supplier-alabama-fined-child-labor-violations-2022-10-11&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.reuters.com&amp;#x2F;world&amp;#x2F;us&amp;#x2F;hyundai-kia-auto-parts-supp...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;(This links to more info.)&lt;p&gt;Wow.&lt;p&gt;I think the thing that shocks me the most is that the punishment from the Department of Labor is a very mild slap-on-the-wrist. A small fine and a promise not to do it any more. This should basically be the end of that company entirely. Instead they just have to point the finger at some low-level managers, fire them, and keep on rolling. I would think criminal charges are warranted for importing 12 and 13 year-olds for labor. The children can&amp;#x27;t consent. That&amp;#x27;s essentially child slave labor.&lt;p&gt;If Hyundai&amp;#x2F;Kia drops them, that would at least be a much bigger penalty than the DOL imposed.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>tremon</author><text>Can you cite the part where the law says that a minor can consent to labor? Every mention of &amp;quot;consent&amp;quot; in the link you gave only mentions &amp;quot;consent by the [minor&amp;#x27;s] parent or guardian&amp;quot; or similar phrasing.</text></comment>
<story><title>Hyundai investigating child labor in its U.S. supply chain</title><url>https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/exclusive-korean-auto-giant-hyundai-investigating-child-labor-its-us-supply-2022-10-19/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>dataflow</author><text>&amp;gt; The children can&amp;#x27;t consent. That&amp;#x27;s essentially child slave labor.&lt;p&gt;Minors can totally consent to labor; it&amp;#x27;s pretty common too (see: child actors). The issue with children working in factories is a (1) safety and (2) exploitation issue, not a consent issue—in fact even adult parents (who can presumably consent) aren&amp;#x27;t allowed to get exemptions for their children in some high-risk situations either. There are lots of exemptions for child labor though, especially in areas where safety and exploitation risks are deemed to be lower. Worth reading: &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.dol.gov&amp;#x2F;general&amp;#x2F;topic&amp;#x2F;youthlabor&amp;#x2F;exemptionsflsa&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.dol.gov&amp;#x2F;general&amp;#x2F;topic&amp;#x2F;youthlabor&amp;#x2F;exemptionsflsa&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;Edit to clarify (since some people seem to be reading this different): this isn&amp;#x27;t &lt;i&gt;my&lt;/i&gt; opinion, support, or opposition on what I believe children can or should consent to; I&amp;#x27;m just discussing labor laws here.</text></item><item><author>jmull</author><text>Here&amp;#x27;s a link from the article to more information on the child labor violations:&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.reuters.com&amp;#x2F;world&amp;#x2F;us&amp;#x2F;hyundai-kia-auto-parts-supplier-alabama-fined-child-labor-violations-2022-10-11&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.reuters.com&amp;#x2F;world&amp;#x2F;us&amp;#x2F;hyundai-kia-auto-parts-supp...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;(This links to more info.)&lt;p&gt;Wow.&lt;p&gt;I think the thing that shocks me the most is that the punishment from the Department of Labor is a very mild slap-on-the-wrist. A small fine and a promise not to do it any more. This should basically be the end of that company entirely. Instead they just have to point the finger at some low-level managers, fire them, and keep on rolling. I would think criminal charges are warranted for importing 12 and 13 year-olds for labor. The children can&amp;#x27;t consent. That&amp;#x27;s essentially child slave labor.&lt;p&gt;If Hyundai&amp;#x2F;Kia drops them, that would at least be a much bigger penalty than the DOL imposed.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>largepeepee</author><text>The point of saying children can&amp;#x27;t consent, is that they can&amp;#x27;t do it alone.&lt;p&gt;You are just supporting OP&amp;#x27;s point unwitting.</text></comment>