Editorial: Candy sales lead to a warranted probe

Thursday, Aug. 10, 2000 | 9:26 a.m.

The Nevada Labor Commission is doing the right thing by assessing whether regulations should be changed in order to prevent children under 16 from selling candy door to door for for-profit companies. The Nevada Labor Commission started the inquiry for two reasons: There have been reports of children being placed in unsafe working conditions and questions have arisen as to whether the children are dishonestly suggesting they're working for a charity to make sales. Nevada Labor Commissioner Terry Johnson noted that a recent story by KVBC Channel 3 showed what appeared to be a child selling candy in front of a bar for a for-profit company.

Unlike working indoors for a business, which is in a controlled environment where there is direct supervision, peddling goods door to door can be risky in today's world, where children often are prey for criminals. Johnson's authority is relatively narrow; the state's child labor laws only apply to for-profit businesses. Children who sell goods door to door for nonprofit groups or churches are exempt. In addition, children who solicit work on their own, such as cutting grass or washing the neighbor's car, aren't covered by these laws since they're viewed as independent contractors.

A company profiting from the labor of children never should be allowed to place them in potentially dangerous situations. For that matter, it's also important to keep in mind that parents themselves bear the responsibility for investigating their youngsters' after-school jobs to make sure that they're safe.