Work Hours

Work hours usually ranged from 10 to 12 hours per day and also included work on Saturdays. Although workers were given breaks throughout the day, these long hours left many of them exhausted with barley any energy to work the next day. Overtime, the exhaustion from long hours eventually caught up to many of them. Today, the United States Department of Labor’s
Wage and Hour division enforces federal laws used to protect work hours. Work hours are now a maximum of 8 to12 hours a
day and 40 hours a week. More than that would be considered overtime.
Unsafe working conditions

Unsafe working conditions were taking place in most factories and mines. In factories, many children and women would get a finger or hand caught in the machines and end up either lose them or badly injured from these open machinery. In mines, many workers were seriously injured and/or died from cave-ins and coal mining accidents. Today, The Occupational Safety and Health
Act of 1970 prevent workers from being killed or seriously injured at work. The
law requires employers to “provide their employees with working conditions that
are free of known dangers”
Low pay

Pay was extremely low for common workers during the industrial revolution. $1.00 to $1.50 was the typical pay for men workers while women were paid less and children the least. It was hardly enough to make a living and nearly impossible to support a family. Most workers worked for relatively low wages due to their incapability to produce goods. In present day, California’s minimum wage is $9.00
per hour. Work hours include 8 to 12 hours daily and 40 hours weekly. After
that, time and a half or double pay is required.
Child Labor

Child labor was very big during the late 1800s through the early 1900s. At times children were more useful laborer because their size allowed them to fit into tight spaces throughout the factories or mines. Many factory owners would hire children opposed to adults because they accepted lower wages as pay. They were also easier to have a control over and were the least to form labor unions. Today, the U.S. Federal Child Labor Law states that
the minimum age for non-hazardous employment is 14 years old and 18 years old
for hazardous employment. Work is not allowed during school hours and a maximum
of 3 hours per day and 18 per week is allowed during school season.