Legislators consider letting some 13-year-olds work

Proposals going through the Florida Legislature removing several child labor protections were just amended to allow some 13-year-olds to work.

The Legislature last year passed a policy allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to work 30-hour weeks. This year, new proposals in the Florida House and Senate would allow them to work full-time and ease rules for 14- and 15-year-olds who are enrolled in homeschool, virtual education, or those who have already graduated. The House version would allow 13-year-olds to work during the summer of the year they turn 14.

Palm Bay Republican Rep. Monique Miller said during her bill’s first committee stop that it will give more control to families about deciding when their children work.

“I think every family needs to make that decision for what’s best for them, instead of having the government tell them what’s best,” she said.

Democrats and labor advocacy groups are blasting the bill, saying it will harm education outcomes and allow employers to pressure lower income kids to work longer hours at a younger age with less protections.

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Orlando Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani said allowing children to work longer hours for less money could negatively affect wages for adult workers.

“When you saturate the workforce with cheap labo — and this will be what happens — it impacts every worker’s bargaining power, every worker’s ability to advocate for better benefits and for better wages. So, it’s not just even impacting children. Really is a ripple effect in the entire system of our economy,” she said.

These bills being considered come days after Gov. Ron DeSantis supported the idea of increased teen labor making up for labor by immigrants.

“What’s wrong with expecting our young people to work part time?” DeSantis asked. “That’s how it used to be when I was growing up. 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.”

It’s unclear whether either of Florida’s two bills will pass. Senate President Ben Albritton says he’s unsure whether he supports it, and House Speaker Daniel Perez says he has personal concerns about the policies. Their hesitancy to support it could force several changes to come to the proposals over the next several weeks.