(NEW YORK) A child labor law was passed this week in New York that aims to protect young underage models from exploitation in the fashion industry by recognizing them as performers. The law goes into effect on November 20th and designates the following stipulations: there must be a responsible person to monito the safety of each child under the age of 16 in the work place, employers must provide a nurse with pediatric experience,employers must provide a teacher and a dedicated area for instruction, and an established trust must be established by a child model’s parent or guardian and must transfer at least 15 percent of the the child’s gross earnings to the trust. The law will also restrict the number of hours an underage model can work and at which hours just as child actors are protected.
The law was signed by governor Andrew Cuomo and on hand to celebrate the law’s passing were top models Coco Rocha and Arlenis Sosa plus, model alliance founder Sara Ziff and Susan Scafidi who serves as the founder and academic director of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham Law School. With models’ careers starting younger and younger these days, we hope that this will afford them a safer work environment.
