Under U.S. labor law, children under the age of 16 are prohibited from working unless their jobs are "approved" for children under 16 by the state and federal labor departments (and, in some cases, the labor departments in their local area). But loopholes in the law allow children to work in ways that don't fall under these regulations, for example, as "apprentices" or "interns." Children paid cash for their work, usually under the table, do not qualify as "apprentices" or "interns."
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an organization that focuses on the protection of the individual's rights to privacy, speech, religion, and other fundamental civil liberties and human rights.
One group of people to whom the ACLU offers protection are children in the state's custody, often known as 'the children's rights.' The cases where the ACLU assists include civil institutions, schools, and law enforcement.
In the context of international law, the United States is one of only two countries that have not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), written in conjunction with the UN in 1989.
