A sweatshop is a working environment with very ifficult or dangerous conditions, usually where the workers have few rights or ways to address their situation. This can include exposure to harmful materials, hazardous situations, extreme temperatures, or abuse from employers. Sweatshop workers are often forced to work long hours for little or no pay, regardless of any laws mandating overtime pay or a minimum wage. Child labour laws may also be violated. Sweatshops may be compared to the factories of the early industrial revolution in countries such as the UK and US, where regulations were few and far between.