Child Labor:
The Characteristics of Working Children in the United States
T-HRD-91-13: Published: Mar 19, 1991. Publicly Released: Mar 19, 1991.
Additional Materials:
- Full Report:
Contact:
GAO discussed the characteristics of America's working children, focusing on the: (1) economic and demographic characteristics of working 15- to 17-year-old children; (2) number of children that were seriously injured while working in violation of child labor laws from fiscal year (FY) 1983 to FY 1990; and (3) Department of Labor's (DOL) penalties assessed for serious injury cases. GAO noted that: (1) about 15 percent of all 15-year-olds and 51 percent of all 16- and 17-year-olds were employed some time during 1988; (2) low-income and minority children were less likely to be employed than high-income and white children; (3) when employed, low-income children were more likely to be employed in such hazardous industries as agriculture, manufacturing, or construction, and worked more hours a week but fewer weeks a year than high-income children; (4) in 1988, about 18 percent of employed 15-year-olds worked in violation of federal child labor regulations; (5) from FY 1983 through FY 1990, DOL detected 1,475 violations associated with serious workplace injuries for working children; (6) in FY 1990 cases where it could readily identify the assessed fines, DOL assessed the maximum non-willful violation penalty against businesses employing a child who was seriously injured; and (7) DOL did not cite any of those businesses for willful violations, nor did it refer any of those cases for criminal prosecution.
Feb 9, 2021
Sexual Harassment and Assault:
Guidance Needed to Ensure Consistent Tracking, Response, and Training for DOD CiviliansGAO-21-113: Published: Feb 9, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 9, 2021.
Dec 17, 2020
-
Intelligence Community:
Additional Actions Needed to Strengthen Workforce Diversity Planning and OversightGAO-21-83: Published: Dec 17, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 17, 2020.
Dec 3, 2020
-
Gender Pay Differences:
The Pay Gap for Federal Workers Has Continued to Narrow, but Better Quality Data on Promotions Are NeededGAO-21-67: Published: Dec 3, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 3, 2020.
Oct 19, 2020
-
VA Health Care:
Better Data Needed to Assess the Health Outcomes of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender VeteransGAO-21-69: Published: Oct 19, 2020. Publicly Released: Oct 19, 2020.
Oct 16, 2020
-
Workplace Sexual Harassment:
Experts Suggest Expanding Data Collection to Improve Understanding of Prevalence and CostsGAO-20-564: Published: Sep 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Oct 16, 2020.
Sep 8, 2020
-
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:
Efforts to Promote Diversity and InclusionGAO-20-637: Published: Sep 8, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 8, 2020.
Jul 22, 2020
-
Sexual Harassment:
VA Needs to Better Protect EmployeesGAO-20-654T: Published: Jul 22, 2020. Publicly Released: Jul 22, 2020.
Jun 23, 2020
-
USAID:
Mixed Progress in Increasing Diversity, and Actions Needed to Consistently Meet EEO RequirementsGAO-20-477: Published: Jun 23, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 23, 2020.
Jun 17, 2020
-
State Department:
Additional Steps Are Needed to Identify Barriers to Workforce DiversityGAO-20-515T: Published: Jun 17, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 17, 2020.
Jun 11, 2020
-
Disability Employment:
Hiring Has Increased but Actions Needed to Assess Retention, Training, and Reasonable Accommodation EffortsGAO-20-384: Published: Jun 11, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 11, 2020.
Looking for more? Browse all our products here
Explore our Key Issues on Equal Opportunity
Explore our other Key Issues here
