Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has said she plans to sign into law new legislation allowing children to work in roles that were previously prohibited and for longer hours.
Under the legislation, children as young as 14 would be allowed to work in a string of positions such as retail, food service, office work, cleaning, and in kitchens.
They would also be able to work in areas such as manufacturing and operate heavy machinery, as part of a “work-based learning program” approved by Iowa Workforce Development or the Iowa Department of Education.
Jobs Will Grant Kids ‘Responsibility, Paycheck’
Additionally, the bill allows minors as young as 14 to work up to six hours a day until 9 p.m., two more than currently allowed for that age group, during the school year and until 11 p.m. during the summer.The bill expressly prohibits minors under the age of 13 from working in any work activity. Employers who violate the law could face a $10,000 civil penalty.
Republican lawmakers who support the bill say that it will grant minors new opportunities to work and receive a paycheck, something that will likely appeal to the younger generation at a time of soaring inflation.
However, Democrats have argued that the bill simply uses minors to help tackle the state’s current work shortages, filling in the gap in Iowa’s workforce. They also fear the bill could cause harm to children, and could see an increase in workplace accidents and injuries among minors.
State Sen. Claire Celsi, a Democrat, told fellow lawmakers during last month’s vote that the bill is “as bad as it gets,” adding that the current labor shortage across the state was owing, in part, to low wages.
‘Our Kids Belong in School’
“Our kids belong in school learning with their friends, they don’t belong in restaurants and bars with adults late on a school night, they shouldn’t be in a freezer or meatpacking plant,” she said. “We should have businesses who keep kids out of harm’s way, not exploit them and expose them to injury or liability. This is a bad bill that will harm the most vulnerable in our state.”Elsewhere, state Sen. Nate Boulton, a Democrat, told Republicans during April’s vote: “You don’t like it being branded as a bill about child labor, but yet your bill talks about kids getting injured in the workplace. So let’s make it about taking care of kids who are injured working in these jobs because it will happen.”
Some labor unions have also condemned the bill.
However, Reynolds also championed the bill back in April, pointing to her own experience working as a babysitter and waitress in her youth.
“That’s good experience,” she told reporters on April 4. “You know, it teaches the kids a lot and if they have the time to do it and they want to earn some additional money I don’t think we should discourage that.”
“Ultimately, parents and kids will decide if they want to work or not,” Reynolds added.
Additionally, a string of other states, including Arkansas, Minnesota, Ohio, and Georgia have introduced or passed similar bills allowing minors to work in paid roles, while lawmakers in Wisconsin this week introduced a bill that would allow children as young as 14 to serve alcohol to seated customers in bars and restaurants to tackle the state’s work shortages.
