Senate Bill 50 would change Ohio’s deadline to 9 p.m., with written permission from the employee’s parent or guardian; while Senate Concurrent Resolution 3 urges the U.S. Congress to implement a similar framework in its Fair Labor Standards Act, which regulates every American company that engages in interstate commerce.
The bills do not, however, seek to modify the 18-hour work week and three-hour work day that 14 and 15 year olds are currently capped at.
State Sen. Tim Shaffer, R-Lancaster, who authored both pieces of legislation, framed the pair as a means to help “small businesses that struggled to find adequate staffing during the pandemic,” he told the Senate Workforce Development Committee.
S.C.R. 3’s language argues the change is necessary to help make up for a workforce depleted by COVID-19 that, in turn, caused businesses to reduce their hours.
“Extending the hours which a person under 16 years of age may work during the school year allows business owners to hire the staff required for the business to resume operating during its usual hours of operation,” S.C.R. 3 reads.
Democrats on the committee, who voted against both bills, see it differently.
“We do have a workforce shortage, but I don’t believe that this is the solution to fixing it,” Sen. Willis Blackshear, Jr., D-Dayton, told this outlet after the vote. “I think we need to go back to the drawing board to figure out, ‘How can we get more people into the workforce?’ Is it pay, is it flexibility, is it childcare?”
Blackshear said he has specific concerns about Ohio minors falling further behind in school, being pressured to help make ends meet, and getting home from work too late because they cannot drive themselves.
Both pieces of legislation can now be brought to the Senate floor for a full vote. Each would need House concurrence before leaving the Statehouse.
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Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
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