A recent article follows the story of minors exploited by the labor market, commenting on the complexities of underage minors working willingly but technically being exploited as a child laborers, minors who are forced to work in debt bondage or other trafficking schemes, and on the growing trend of such child labor in the US since 2015. Local labor departments and federal data indicate that nearly every sector in the American economy is tainted with child labor violations – restaurants, childcare, textiles, electronics, vehicle manufacturing . Kelsey Morgan (EverFree & UCI Blum Center) is quoted at the close of the article:
“Look, the people we’re talking about, in terms of forced labor, could be a waiter at a restaurant or a nanny down the street. It could be anybody. The problem is in front of us every day. The question is: Are we going to pay attention to it?”