I drove a Volkswagen bug to high school and kept two things in my glovebox. Amp and clip-on tie. The Tampa Catholic junior who loved loud music was also hard.
The other day, the brown and blue striped tie came to mind as state lawmakers debated whether to relax Florida’s child labor laws. The pending law in the House and Senate removes the working hours limit for ages 16 and 17 in school week, clearing the way 14-year-olds are legally employed.
The law is so aggressive on its face that GOP Jay Collins in Tampa and Gov. Ron DeSantis, who planted the Senate bill, was forced to do so on a daily basis.
“What’s the problem with our youth expecting to work part-time now? I mean, that’s when I was growing up,” DeSantis said at the Sarasota event in March. After all, he continued: “Teens worked at these resorts, so college students should be able to do something like this.”
Tackle these distractions one at a time.
First, the bill does not target university students, but is as young as the ninth grade. Under current state law, children aged 16 and 17 cannot work more than 30 hours a week on school days at 6:30am or after 11pm or during school year. Those who work on an 8-hour shift should get a 30-minute break. Work restrictions are even closer for 14 and 15-year-olds.
Collins’ bill removes the working hours limit for ages 16 and 17. They pulled overnight shifts, worked more than 8 hours before school day, and were able to log for over 30 hours. The bill eliminates the requirement to provide breaks for teenagers and removes all work restrictions for certain ages 14 and 15, such as those taking homeschoolers and virtual classes. So, forget about chatting with college students about part-time work. This bill is about young people working harder.
Secondly, it is wrong to imply that healthy teens today are lazy and are in front of work. Approximately 38% of people aged 16 to 19 have the workforce. That’s lower than in the last few decades, but in fact, it’s in recent years. And this long-term change does not reflect lazyness, but the opportunity for new generations to naturally stumble. Young people have made the conscious decision to stay in school or seek advanced training in skilled trading and skills. These welcome developments will help families build generational wealth. Society also benefits when someone responds when they call or call a plumber.
Long hours of cheerleading also ignores many reasons why teenagers work. I bagged groceries at Publix in Seminole Heights. Usually, it is two nights on a Saturday and a week. The pay was OK – I made more lawns – but this was inside the job and the experience was helpful. It provided my first taste of workplace dynamics and corporate life hierarchies.
Spend your days with Hayes
Subscribe to our free Stephenly newsletter
Columnist Stephanie Hayes shares thoughts, feelings and interesting business with you every Monday.
You’re all signed up!
Want more free weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.
Check out all options
Having money was a good thing, but my salary didn’t scale the scale of a middle class family. I was tired around 10pm, so the morning meant blowing away my homework and worries. My studies have been painful, but I have always had the comfort of knowing that the guardrails are there. My parents and teachers saw it. I never even thought about not graduating. It is a luxury chosen because it is born with benefits.
Desantis’s office said the relaxed work restrictions will “ensure families can determine the best interests of their children.” It sounds energetic and healthy. But are the families there operating as democracies? One thing I’m sure is: The arguments I worked with my parents, and the governor might have had with his children one day – is very different from the discussions about kitchen tables in East Tampa, Liberty City, or Eatonville.
Teens who want a side job can already get one. This law is merely a tool to seduce teenagers and hopeless parents in the bubble to put the welfare of children and the second of the future. It is an agricultural mentality that equates the extra hands with income. And it comes at a terrible time as American schools suffer from chronic absenteeism and child labor law violations surge across the country.
There are no work issues in America. There is a labor issue and this law is a predatory way to address it. So let’s be honest about who this bill is doing and what. And stop wrapping this argument in a nostalgic two-tiered manner.
