Some jobs should never be done by kids. Project 2025 sees things differently

Working a minimum wage job scooping ice cream or lifeguarding at the local pool is a summer rite of passage for many American kids. A growing number of mostly conservative officials and activists, however, have a different idea about what constitutes age-appropriate employment for minors.

Across the country, some officials — overwhelmingly Republicans — are looking for ways to usher underage workers into potentially dangerous jobs like factory work, including having them take late-night shifts. The far-right playbook known as Project 2025 goes so far as to propose that the Department of Labor roll back regulations restricting underage...