Child labor laws – Teen working in grocery store – Courtesy: Shutterstock — BearFotos
A year after Florida established a new rule to make it harder for employers to hire illegal immigrants, the House on Thursday approved a bill regarding child labor allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to work later and longer hours.
Advocates claimed that since teens and their parents are accustomed to managing their time well, removing barriers to employment will enable them to pursue jobs and make money—especially in light of the present labor shortage. The reforms, according to critics, would make it simpler for companies to take advantage of kids and could have a detrimental impact on academic performance.
“Nearly 1 million searches have been performed for ‘How can I get a job as a teen.’ They want to work. This bill gets government out of their way to choose a path that’s best for them,” said Republican Rep. Linda Chaney, who sponsored the bill.
The law would do away with limitations that forbade 16 and 17-year-olds from working more than eight hours the day after their studies and from working more than thirty hours a week during the school year. It was approved by the House on an 80–35 majority.
Democrats who opposed the child labor bill claimed that children have plenty of time to work and go to school under the present legislation. Rep. Anna Eskamani questioned if the proposal was made because hiring certain people is becoming more challenging due to the state’s prohibitions on immigration.
“The elephant in the room is that we see a labor shortage in different parts of the economy and part of that is tied to decisions this Legislature has made when it comes to immigration,” she said.
She added that rather than depending on kids for less desired occupations, companies should pay adults more for them.
“I have concerns with saturating the workplace with cheap labor, which will make it harder for every person to be paid a wage they can live on,” Eskamani said.
A comparable bill that doesn’t get as far as the House is in the Senate. The Republican president of the Senate, Kathleen Passidomo, stated that parents are too often worried about their children working nonstop without rest or education.
Before the Senate bill is considered by the entire body, it must pass two additional committees.
“We want to allow students or kids that want to work to do that, but our number one priority is to make sure that they don’t sacrifice their education,” Passidomo said.
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Melissa’s career in writing started more than 20 years ago. Today, she lives in South Florida with her husband and two boys.
