Wisconsin GOP slammed for 'potentially disastrous' plan to let 14-year-olds work in bars

Republicans in Wisconsin think they've come up with a plan to solve a shortage of workers in their state -- and it involves letting children as young as 14 serve alcohol in bars.

The Associated Press reports that Wisconsin Republicans are pushing for a plan that would establish the lowest age limit in the country for children to be able to legally work in bars.

And the Wisconsin GOP isn't the only state Republican Party looking at loosening child labor laws, as the AP notes that the GOP-led Ohio legislature "is on track to pass a bill allowing students ages 14 and 15 to work until 9 p.m. during the school year with their parents’ permission," a time that is "later than federal law allows, so a companion measure asks the U.S. Congress to amend its own laws."

Added to this, Republican-led states such as Arkansas and Iowa have also removed child labor restrictions with the aim of making it easier for employers to hire teen workers who are more likely to accept lower pay than adult workers.

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These moves have drawn alarm from labor advocates who accuse the GOP-led legislatures of opening the doors to the mass exploitation of children.

“The consequences are potentially disastrous,” Reid Maki, director of the Child Labor Coalition, told the AP. “You can’t balance a perceived labor shortage on the backs of teen workers.”