Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis has opened a Pandora’s box. Soon after, he introduced a controversial bill to make it easier for companies to employ children, rolling back state child labor protections. The bill has already passed the Republican-dominated state senate. It would make essential, long overdue changes to our current, weak protections for teen workers. DeSantis is convinced that the measure will allow children to prosper. He says it will prepare them to sharpen critical “soft skills” through real-world job experiences, particularly in settings like supermarkets.
The legislation that was proposed in response ignited a firestorm. It would enable 14- and 15-year-olds, homeschooled or enrolled in virtual education, to work as many hours as they want with no rest periods required. Specifically, it permits employers to schedule 16- and 17-year-olds to work more than six days in a row. Critics argue that the bill could be a new way to prey on young people and pose significant safety dangers. This concern is exacerbated by a new report released by Governing for Impact and the Economic Policy Institute, which found alarming increases in youth workplace injuries and violations in Florida.
The report makes clear, perhaps better than any other analysis to date, the overwhelming extent to which Florida’s economy depends on immigrant labor. It exposes a more pervasive effort among at least 30 mostly Republican-led states to roll back workplace protections for children. This movement has raised alarms about the potential rollback of child labor laws, with concerns that a second Trump administration could further exacerbate the situation.
The Florida Policy Institute (FPI) is concerned that the bill will be very damaging to Florida’s labor force. They too are worried about its effects on the economy. Alexis Tsoukalas, a senior policy analyst at FPI, stated, “It’s essentially treating teens who have developing bodies and minds like adults, and this will allow employers to schedule them for unlimited hours, overnight and without breaks, and this is during the school year.” Earlier this fall, the institute gave a gloomy prognostication on Kentucky’s 2023 anti-immigrant legislative success. They warned it would be catastrophic to the labor market since Florida is so dependent on immigrant workers.
Florida’s innovation economy is booming and our workforce is, therefore, dynamic and vibrant. More than 27% of its workforce is made up of immigrants according to the US Census Bureau. The Farmworker Association of Florida has more than 13,000 low-income immigrant laborers. Remarkably, 60% of these drivers are undocumented, which puts them uniquely at risk of being detained and deported themselves.
As the bill’s sponsor, state senator Jay Collins, made the rounds, opposition grew among key constituencies. He shrewdly recast most of the legislation through a parental rights lens. Plenty of detractors are not mollified by this argument. Thomas Kennedy, a vocal opponent of the bill, remarked, “We’ve been saying since 2023 that this is a way for them to exploit minors, it was when they passed this large, anti-immigrant omnibus and the same year that they tried to pass the first law gutting child labor protection.”
Several of the bill’s provisions have garnered particular interest for their seemingly depredatory effects on child labor protections. They fit within the recent calls for more comprehensive immigration reform. An unspecified source noted, “Given some of the justifications that state leaders have made in recent days, it’s clear that they are linking the immigration issue and child labor.”
The debate over this legislation goes beyond the borders of Florida. At least one observer has drawn comparisons with similarly half-baked efforts in other states to solve labor shortages by relaxing child labor laws. As one source summarized, “Combined with what’s going on at the state level, that absolutely is a concern. It’s no surprise that last year, and then again this year, we’re talking about the need to fill gaps with other forms of labor.”