A Florida state Senate committee has preliminarily approved a bill that would expand employment rights for minors. The relaxation of restrictions on the use of child labor is justified by the necessity that arose due to the mass deportations of illegal migrants, informs The Times.
The document still has to go through several stages of consideration in the parliament. The project provides for the abolition of restrictions on night work for teenagers aged 16-17, and it is also allowed to work more than eight hours on weekdays. In addition, the draft law cancels a number of guarantees for underage workers.
The easing of restrictions will also affect 14- to 15-year-olds if they meet certain criteria, including being homeschooled, having employed parents, having a high school diploma or working as a domestic servant in private households.
The state’s governor, Republican Ron DeSantis, has previously publicly acknowledged that the state is experiencing a labor crisis caused by the anti-immigration measures of the administration of current US President Donald Trump. He is called one of the main supporters of a tough migration policy. At the same time, he believes that the lack of workers can be compensated by involving minors.
“What’s wrong with expecting our youth to work part-time now? I mean, it used to be like that when I was growing up“, said the governor.
Human rights activists criticized this initiative. Jason Oberlink, director of legislative affairs for Florida for All, said the proposed changes would lead to labor exploitation.
“We face yet another attempt to strip Florida’s children of basic safeguards — all to satisfy corporate interests seeking cheap labor.” – he emphasized.
We will remind that in December 2024, the US Chamber of Commerce recognized Florida as the state with the greatest shortage of workers: for every 100 open vacancies, there are only 53 job seekers.
