Why Should We Care?

 

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 set a national minimum wage and maximum working hours for ALL workers, including children. Before this law was passed, child labor laws had only been successfully passed on the state level and was hardly effective due to the poor enforcement of the laws and the completely different standards of regulations set by each state. Because of the Fair Labor Standards Act, many children began to stop working in the gruesome conditions they were exposed to and were finally allowed to go to school. 

 

This law was extremely signifcant as the first successful federal law combating child labor in U.S. history. In the 1941 United States v. Darby case that attempted to challenge the validity of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Supreme Court ruled the act constitutional, arguing that the federal government had the right to regulate interstate commerce. 

 

Ultimately, the Fair Labor Standards act paved the way for the end of child labor and protected children's rights of fair conditions when working.