Extract:
The Florida Legislature is looking to fill employment vacancies with workers as young as 13 and 14 years old — as long as they voluntarily agree to be paid below minimum wage.
Two bills are moving through the Legislature that would eliminate restrictions on work hours for minors, in addition to legislation that would carve out an option for new hires to waive their right to a minimum wage in a structured work-study, internship, pre-apprenticeship or apprenticeship program.
Although there are federal labor law standards when it comes to work hours and minimum wage, the Fair Labor Standards Act ultimately allows states to set work hours and curfews for minors and determine which jobs qualify for minimum wage. Under federal law, there is no limit to how long 16- and 17-year-olds can work. (The law also sets the minimum age for employment to 14 for nonagricultural jobs.) Interns and students are additionally not “entitled” to minimum wage or overtime payment.
Proponents in state legislatures across the country argue these moves are necessary to erase bureaucratic barriers and expand labor opportunities for minors and young adults looking to support their families and bolster resumes.
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Although the U.S. Department of Labor is also tasked with enforcing child labor regulations and determining whether an intern or student is actually being treated as an employee, Child Labor Coalition’s Director of Child Labor Issues and Coordinator Reid Maki anticipates there will be “a large increase in illegal child labor with so little enforcement happening.”
The implications of laxing restrictions on child labor and waiving the right to minimum wage go beyond a decline in academic performance. Dr. Ann Olivarius, a civil rights attorney who represents survivors of sexual violence and workplace discrimination, said this legislation could lead to children doing “back-breaking, unrelenting work that will force [them] out of school, deprive them of an education and make the rest of their lives harder and poorer.” It could also “undermine adult workers’ bargaining power” when it comes to negotiations for higher wages.
