Despite the Fair Labor Standards Act being passed during the New Deal, child labor never quite disappeared from the United States. Agricultural work remained exempt from many restrictions and improvements to enforcement have been uneven. Now, child labor is on the rise in America. The Department of Labor highlights that the number of minors employed in violation of child labor laws was up 37% from previous years and there’s evidence of increasing numbers being trafficked, with many states weakening child-labor laws in deference to industry groups and sometimes in defiance of federal authority.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/06/12/child-labor-is-on-the-rise