PERLINDUNGAN HUKUM ANAK DALAM MELAKUKAN PEKERJAAN DI SEKTOR INFORMAL (STUDI KOMPARATIF UNDANG-UNDANG NOMOR 13 TAHUN 2003 CALIFORNIA FAMILY CODE §§ 6750–6753)

Legal protection for child laborers is part of the state's effort to guarantee human rights and social welfare, as mandated by the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia. In the context of employment, Law Number 13 of 2003 concerning Manpower explicitly prohibits children under the age of employment from working, except under certain conditions stipulated in the legislation. This legal protection includes guarantees of the right to fair wages, encompassing both control over and the use of their earnings, as well as the regulation of working hours appropriate to the child’s physical and psychological condition. However, in the informal sector, these provisions are often difficult to implement due to weak supervision and high poverty rates that compel children to work. As a result, many child laborers do not receive adequate legal protection and are vulnerable to exploitation and poor working conditions.. This study aims to analyze the forms of legal protection for child laborers in the informal sector in Indonesia and compare them with regulations in the United States, particularly in the state of California. The research employs a normative juridical method, with a statutory approach (statute approach), a conceptual approach (conceptual approach), and a comparative approach (comparative approach). The data sources include primary legal materials (laws and regulations), secondary legal materials (books and legal journals), and tertiary legal materials (legal dictionaries and encyclopedias). The findings indicate that, although Indonesia has regulations prohibiting child labor, their implementation in the informal sector still faces various challenges, such as weak supervision and a lack of law enforcement. On the other hand, regulations in California, United States, provide more specific protections for child laborers, especially in the entertainment industry, through the Coogan Law, which ensures that a portion of a child worker’s earnings is preserved until adulthood. Based on this comparison, the study recommends enhancing supervision, strengthening regulations in the informal sector, and adopting more effective child labor protection policies in Indonesia.