Proposed Child Labor Laws Not Strict Enough, City Aides Say

Los Angeles officials Wednesday criticized proposed statewide rules governing door-to-door peddling by minors as not strict enough to protect the children from possible assault and sexual abuse.

The objections by representatives of the Los Angeles Police Department and the city attorney’s office were presented to state Labor Commissioner C. Robert Simpson Jr. at a hearing called to review wide-ranging changes in the state’s child labor regulation.

Deputy City Atty. Maureen Siegel complained that the proposed restrictions on door-to-door selling needed to be strengthened. Simpson has proposed that one adult supervise every 10 children working door-to-door, that supervisors check on the children at least every 15 minutes and that no child be allowed to work a block alone.

“In the best of all possible worlds, door-to-door sales by children less than 16 would be prohibited altogether,” Siegel said.

She asked that Simpson consider requiring one adult supervisor for every four children and that children be required to approach houses in pairs. She also recommended that youth groups like the Girl Scouts and Little League, which are not covered by the labor regulations, be advised of the regulations and asked to voluntarily comply with them.

Detective Ralph Bennett of the Police Department’s sexually exploited child unit, objected to the fact that young newspaper carriers who own their own routes would be exempt from the new rules. He cited cases in Orange County and Des Moines, Iowa, where children disappeared or were murdered in selling door-to-door or while working paper routes.

However, the California Newspaper Publishers Assn. objected to any restrictions on carriers, saying that the youngsters know their routes and cannot be compared with children taken to unfamiliar neighborhoods to sell products door-to-door.

David Hicks, an attorney for several firms that hire youngsters to sell candy door-to-door, contended that distinguishing among newspapers, candy and Girl Scout cookies was simply unconstitutional. Hicks also argued that the proposal to require that an adult be available to check on youngsters every 15 minutes was unrealistic and designed to make it easy for state labor officials to cite employers, even those who work conscientiously to ensure the youngsters’ safety.

While much of the attention at the hearing centered on the door-to-door sales issue, a sharp clash also developed over the state’s provisions that regulate the employment of children in the entertainment industry.

In an effort to keep entertainment companies from fleeing to states with less-restrictive child labor laws, Simpson has proposed lengthening the hours that child actors can work and eliminating requirements for supervision of 16 and 17-year-olds.

The Studio Teachers Union, representing educators who also enforce state child labor laws on the set, complained that the older teen-agers still need protection from demands of producers to perform dangerous stunts or work longer hours than the rules would allow.

However, a broad industry coalition, including major performers’ unions and producer groups, generally supported Simpson’s proposal.