This exact same logic could be used to advocate against a minimum wage or really any employee protections.
If I am an adult agreeing to go to work in a sweatshop, why is the government stopping me? Because the government recognizes that I am only agreeing because the power imbalance my employer has over me is a form of coercion.
If you've ever been an employer, you'd know that you have exactly zero power over your employees. They can and do quit whenever it strikes their fancy. Employee turnover is a constant problem for every business. This applies to min wage workers on up to million dollar workers.
The only real difference is the million dollar ones give notice, and the min wage workers just stop showing up.
>If you've ever been an employer, you'd know that you have exactly zero power over your employees.
This is a statement totally disconnected from reality for most Americans. Over half of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Over half of Americans get their medical insurance through their employer. These two facts mean that most Americans do not have the financial security to quit a job without having another one already lined up.
If I am an adult agreeing to go to work in a sweatshop, why is the government stopping me? Because the government recognizes that I am only agreeing because the power imbalance my employer has over me is a form of coercion.