Protect child labor laws

The latest boneheaded idea coming from Florida lawmakers is to loosen child labor laws, part of a nationwide Republican trend that seeks to turn back the clock on kids in the workplace after more than a century of progress.

You heard that right. Child labor laws. You know, the ones that go back to the early 1900s and helped shape the United States into a place that values children's education, in part because education helps break the cycle of poverty.

And yet a St. Petersburg legislator has filed a bill, House Bill 49, for consideration in the 2024 session that would eliminate common-sense work restrictions on 16- and 17-year-olds.

Right now, those teens can't work before 6:30 a.m. or after 11 p.m., or for more than eight hours when there's school the next day, or for more than 30 hours a week during the school year. Those are reasonable requirements. Most people would agree that kids shouldn't be working late night shifts or more than 30 hours while balancing school work as well. So why do away with them?

Bill sponsor Rep. Linda Chaney told the Orlando Sentinel that the bill would "provide teenagers with the flexibility to work whatever hours they deem fits best with their schedule and financial goals."

She said she's helping kids by "providing opportunity" and added that "government should not be in the way of people wanting to learn skills and make a living."

Sounds like she's talking about 40-year-olds with 401(k)s, not a bunch of students in high school.

So which is it? Are they tender shoots that must be nurtured and shielded from scary ideas discussed in a classroom, even when guided by a teaching professional? Or are they quasi adults, striding into the world, demanding to shoulder more hours so they can "make a living"?

Let's drop the pretense. This has nothing to do with kids needing to fatten their paychecks. This isn't about their career trajectories or allowing children to be "free" to work. This is about a labor shortage, one that has been exacerbated in Florida by a Republican Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis. They have trumpeted the state's crackdown on undocumented immigrants and sent that workforce fleeing but now — whoops! — there aren't enough people to work, especially in low-wage jobs. This is about making sure there's a plentiful supply of cheap labor in this state. We don't hear parents clamoring for this. No doubt the push is coming from industry.

And it's not just older teens potentially affected by this proposal. It may also affect kids as young as 14 or 15, though that remains unclear, perhaps by design. Current law says kids aged 14 and 15 "shall not" work before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. for more than 15 hours a week during the school year or for more than three hours a day on school days. The proposal would change that to "may not."

Chaney has said her proposal wouldn't actually change the law for younger teens. But if that's true, it would be unnecessary to make such a strange change in the current wording — from a hard "shall not" to a more permissive "may not." Makes you wonder if there's a change being sneaked in.

Florida isn't alone. Arkansas and Iowa have rolled back child labor laws. That doesn't make it right.

Florida's laws allow teens to work, but they put appropriate brakes on how much and when, putting children's well-being ahead of profitability for companies. This proposal does the opposite. It's an attempt to use kids to fix a problem created by adults.