Senate committee amends and passes Florida bill relaxing child labor laws

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Legislation intended to redefine labor restrictions for 16 and 17-year-olds was amended and passed through a Florida Senate committee Monday.

Sen. Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills, sponsored a comparable bill, SB 1596, but took up the House’s version, HB 49, which was carried by Rep. Linda Chaney, R-St. Pete Beach. The House previously passed Chaney’s bill 80-35 on Feb. 2.

Burgess said the amendment “puts the Senate language on the House bill with some changes.” The bill passed through the committee 15-3.

He explained there are no changes for those who are 15 or younger.

Burgess said lawmakers changed it back to the way current law stipulates hours relating to 16 and 17-year-olds. 16 and 17-year-olds may not work before 6:30 a.m. or after 11 p.m. when school is scheduled the following day. The hours were previously 5:30 am and midnight.

The bill prohibits “work for more than eight hours in any one day when school is scheduled the following day except when the day of work is on a holiday or a Sunday,” Burgess said.

In regard to hours per week, Burgess said the bill will require that students seeking more than 30 hours per week during the school year “must get a waiver from either a parent or their school superintendent.”

“This is a change that we are reflecting because currently DBPR [Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation] has that authority, but I think if we’re looking to empower parents and also get the school more involved,” Burgess said.

Burgess said this is a “measured approach” and “probably makes seeking that exemption a little more streamlined and practical.”

Those aged 16 and 17 will be able to work seven consecutive days per week instead of six, which is the current law.

Burgess said a change was added in regards to breaks.

Those aged 16 and 17 who work for eight hours or more in any one day may not work for more than four hours consecutively without at least one 30 minute meal break.

Burgess said lawmakers are adding an exemption for 16 and 17-year-olds who are “in a home education program or enrolled in an approved virtual instruction program in which the minor is separated by the teacher via time only.”

“This is really the the main reason why I gravitated towards this legislation,” Burgess said.

“I think that this legislation is an effort to not roll back to the federal standard, but to recognize that the world has changed and we’ve adapted and this is a reflection of that,” he said.

The bill now heads to the Senate chamber for a floor vote before going back to the House.