July 22 (THAINDIAN NEWS) After being reported by the state representative, ‘TLC’ hit television show ‘Kate Plus 8’, which is a spinoff off of ‘Jon and Kate Plus 8’, is being investigated for child labor law infractions, but the authorities in Pennsylvania contend that the show’s permits seem to be in order.

According to the child labor laws, children who are under the age of seven years old are only allowed to work between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm in Pennsylvania, and cannot work over 18 hours a week during the school term. On school days they are only allowed to work 4 hours a day and they can never work for over 5 hours without a break.

Since the cameras are supposedly “always rolling” for reality shows, the rules are often difficult to adhere to. Grey areas are exposed in reality television, because although filming is done around the clock, the family is not always considered to be “working”. State Representative Thomas Murt feels that this is just too much for young children to be exposed to.

The labor department disagrees. “Reality television is a new area of entertainment. However, Labor & Industry assured during its investigation, visit to the site, and issuance of permits that protections applied to these children and that they were not unlawfully exploited.”

Murt still contends that the permits are not legal, and insists that actions needs to be taken on the children’s behalf. He says that the laws in the state of Pennsylvania allow children under 7 to work in movies, not television. Kate’s sextuplets are 6 years old. He has sent a series of letters to the attorney general questioning the legality of the permits.

It is not the first time these kids’ rights have been questioned. In May of 2009, the ‘TLC’ reality show had a child labor investigation as well. During that investigation, Attorney Paul Moretti stated, “Chances are, courts would say this doesn’t count as labor, because the children are doing things they would be doing whether there was a camera or not.”

‘TLC’s response in 2009? “TLC fully complies with all applicable laws and regulations. Jon & Kate Plus 8 is no exception. For an extended period of time, we have been engaged in cooperative discussions and supplied all requested information to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor. We will continue to engage the appropriate officials and meet any standards or regulations that are applicable to TLC productions.”(E!Online)