The bills would allow teenagers to work longer hours on school days and in some professions deemed hazardous.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Several bills that would change child labor laws are moving forward in Florida’s legislature.
The bills would allow teenagers in Florida to work longer hours on school days and in some professions deemed hazardous. Advocates on one side say the legislation will hurt children; Those on the other side, believe it will help families and businesses.
House Bill 49 would let teenagers work over 30 hours a week, and for more than eight hours a day on a school night. Senate Bill 460 would let teens work on roofs and scaffolding up to six feet high. It would also create changes that would expose students to opportunities in skilled trades.
Researchers with the nonprofit, Florida Policy Institute, say the part about exposure to skilled trades is good, but their concerns are greater.
“We already have a concern about an imbalance between school and work and if you start rolling back these provisions even more, then that could have life-long education and economic consequences,” Florida Policy Institute Political Analyst Alexis Tsoukalas said during a virtual press conference last week.
“Let’s be clear,” Debbie Berkowitz, practitioner fellow with Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor, added during the press conference. “Workers get killed on or around roofing jobs.”
Leaders with the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, speaking to a legislative committee, say the bills would expand staffing and get rid of unnecessary restrictions on teenage employees. Samantha Padgett says the association received, “a flood of positive support” from hoteliers and restauranteurs.
“That this would significantly help them and make a positive difference in their business and also, make a positive investment in the future of their business by being able to invite 16 and 17-year-olds into the workforce and start their career development early,” said Padgett.
A report by the Economic Policy Institute finds 10 states have introduced or passed bills weakening child labor standards in the past two years.
