The onslaught of bad bills coming out of this General Assembly is nearly impossible to comprehensively follow. One especially pernicious proposal we haven’t talked about is up for a final vote in the Senate today: House Bill 1410, dubbed the “Youth Hiring Act of 2023” would dispense with the requirement that businesses who want to hired children under age 16 receive a permit from the state Department of Labor. It’s sponsored by Rep. Rebecca Burkes (R-Lowell) and Sen. Clint Penzo (R-Springdale)
UPDATE: It passed the Senate after a lot of bloviating about how kids today don’t work like they used to and instead lay around playing video games. There was also a fair amount of the standard “get government out of the way” rhetoric. The bill passed overwhelming despite opposition from several Republicans, including Sens. Mark Johnson (R-Fernadale), Missy Irvin (R-Mountain View) and Breanne Davis (R-Russellville).
Laura Kellams, Northwest Arkansas Director at Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, has a Twitter thread that outlines why this is a bad idea.
Arkansas is on the cusp of dispensing with the permits businesses obtain to hire workers younger than 16. Doing this would make it easier to commit child labor violations. The claim is that the permits are useless pieces of paper. They are not. They protect kids.????#arpx #arleg
— Laura Kellams (@LauraKellams) March 1, 2023
This bill is part of what appears to be part of a nationwide effort to ease child labor restrictions. It comes as the Biden administration has announced plans to crack down on child labor following the U.S. Labor Department’s revelation that they have seen a nearly 70% increase in child labor violations since 2018.