In Episode 3, Season 2, Ocean explores what rights minors actually have as workers, how state laws (like Colorado’s) create troubling exceptions for seasonal and agricultural work, and why collective bargaining and enforcement often fail young employees.

The episode centers on investigative reporting about migrant children working dangerous night shifts in slaughterhouses, the legal loopholes and enforcement gaps that enable exploitation, and the need for stronger protections and worker power. Episode 4 continues the deep dive.

Ocean examines the growing movement to relax child labor protections, reading lawmakers’ and industry statements and tracing state and federal proposals like the Teens Act.

The episode contrasts supporters’ claims about work experience and staffing needs with critics’ concerns about education, safety, and exploitation, and explains how these changes could reshape young people’s lives and rights.

This episode introduces "The Legalized Child," a three-part series examining how child labor has been normalized and in some places expanded through law and policy in the United States.

Host Ocean reviews federal and state rules, recent enforcement data and high-profile investigations, and previews the series' next episodes on policymaking, accountability, and who benefits from loosening child labor protections.