Several laws targeting child labor are making their way through the Ohio statehouse.
A Republican sponsored bill would extend the hours young teens can work during the school year. Supporters say families who want their kids working jobs that run later should be allowed to do so.
Critics say it's just another way to chip away at laws protecting kids, who they say should be studying or playing.
Meanwhile, a new Democratic counter proposal would increase penalties on employers who violate child labor laws.
The bills in Ohio are part of a larger trend where states are loosening child labor laws and protections as teens and minors become a larger part of the workforce. Should teens help fill gaps in industries such as restaurant and hospitality or be allowed to work more to earn money for their futures.
We will talk to Ohio experts on wage and labor to begin Monday's "Sound of Ideas."
Later in the hour, a conversation about knitting and unexpected connections.
More than a decade ago, former Plain Dealer columnist Eleanor Bergholz started a knitting group at the Rice Branch of Cleveland Public Library on the city's East Side.
The group still meets today. And in all those years of gathering, beautiful works of yarn work were created. But something else emerged too.
Bergholz found that just as a collection of stitches holds together a piece of work, the collection of people in the group held their families and one another together.
Over the years, stitch by stitch and story by story, a narrative of resilience and interpersonal connection was created.
It's the subject of Bergholz's new book, "When Knitting Becomes Nurture."
Ideastream's Anna Huntsman sat down with Bergholz and Portia Dawn, another knitter, to talk about what they've gained from being part of the group.
Guests:
-Heather Smith, Work and Wage Researcher, Policy Matters
-Tod Bowen, Managing Director of External Affairs and Government Relations, Ohio Restaurant and Hospitality Alliance
-Courtlyn Roser-Jones, Associate Professor of Law, Moritz College of Law, Ohio State
-Stephen Clegg, Chief, Bureau of Wage & Hour, Division of Industrial Compliance, Ohio Department of Commerce
-Anna Huntsman, Akron-Canton Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Eleanor Bergholz, Author, "When Knitting Becomes Nurture"
- Portia Dawn, Knitting Club Participant
