Florida May Loosen Child Labor Laws To Fill Low-Wage Jobs Left By Undocumented Workers
The proposed bill would allow kids as young as 14 to work overnight shifts.
Most everyone agrees that getting a job as a teenager is good for teaching work ethic, personal growth, and the importance of having a stable bank account. It can teach responsibility, consistency, and money management.
But on the other hand, federal and state labor laws are in place to ensure that kids ultimately put their education first — and to prevent corporations from taking advantage of teen workers.
Now, with the current administration cracking down on undocumented workers, more and more states are having trouble filling positions in undesirable, low-wage jobs often held by immigrants. Florida is considering fixing the problem by eliminating child labor laws that restrict kids from working long hours, working during the school day, working without a break for meals, or working overnight shifts.
The proposed Senate Bill 918, which was heard by the Florida Senate committee on Tuesday, is backed by the Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is looking for ways to find legal “dirt cheap” labor.
“Why do we say we need to import foreigners, even import them illegally, when you know, teenagers used to work at these resorts, college students should be able to do this stuff?” DeSantis said last week during a panel discussion on immigration. “And what’s wrong with expecting our young people to be working part-time now? I mean that’s how it used to be when I was growing up.”
The bill would allow kids as young as 14 to work overnight shifts on school nights — currently, teens are not allowed to work between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. because it could affect their schoolwork, not to mention sleep.
It would also allow some teens to work more than 30 hours per week while school is in session — bucking another law that currently ensures that kids have enough time and energy to focus on their education. In addition, it would eliminate the requirement that teens get meal breaks after a certain number of hours of work.
Last year, lawmakers ended many of these requirements for homeschooled or virtually schooled teenagers.
“The teens who will be most harmed by this bill are low-income young people or those without documented status who are compelled by their situation to work,” Nina Mast, an analyst with the Economic Policy Institute, told The Tampa Bay Times.
Research shows that kids who work more than 20 hours per week during the school year are significantly more likely to drop out of school, while limiting working hours for students positively affects achievement and lowers drop-out rates.
