Florida minors will soon be eligible to work longer hours after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 49.
Starting July 1, workers aged 15 and younger could work longer than 15 hours a week during the Summer months when school isn’t in session.
And 16- and 17-year-olds could be asked to work after 11 p.m. when there’s no school the following day; for more than 30 hours in one week when school is in session if they have parental approval; and for more than six days in a row in a given week.
The bill passed along mostly party lines, with just one Republican, Rep. Mike Beltran of Riverview, voting against it with Democrats.
Democrats, union leaders and worker advocates opposed the bill as the rolling back of vital protections for vulnerable employees just starting out in the working world and likely unaware of labor laws and regulations.
The first incarnation of the bill would have allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to work before 6:30 a.m. and after 11 p.m. at any time during the year and prevented cities and counties from enacting a curfew on minors later than 11 p.m.
But the bill was supported by big and small business groups who wanted more flexibility for scheduling younger workers.
“House Bill 49 simply puts control back in the hands of parents and guardians if their 16- or 17-year-old has decided they want to work more than 30 hours in a week,” said Bill Herrle, National Federation of Independent Businesses Florida chapter state executive.
“For many young people, this first job is the key to gaining the skills they need to be successful for the rest of their lives. Many of these young people go on to own and operate businesses of their own using the very skills they learned early on in these jobs.”
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