Nearly every Maine House and Senate Republican voted to repeal child labor protections

Economic policy analyst Arthur Phillips with the Maine Center for Economic Policy also criticized the bill, highlighting the heightened injury risk and long-term impact for young workers.

“Younger workers are also more susceptible to injury. Research shows that younger workers are more than twice as likely to be injured on the job than workers over the age of 25,” Phillips said. “… In addition to the immediate impacts on children in our state, these bills would undermine Maine’s long-term economic productivity. Under these proposals, we would expect worse academic outcomes and less pursuit of higher education, which are associated with lower lifetime earnings and economic productivity.”

Click here to read the full story, first published May 19, 2025 in Beacon.