According to US media reports, last week, the US state of Wisconsin passed a bill that allows 14-year-old children to work until 11 p.m. Proponents claim that this helps address the state's labor shortage. But critics point out that the main task of children is to learn in school, not to work longer during adolescence.
According to the us "Capitol Hill" newspaper, the "Business Insider" website, and the National Broadcasting Company WMTV Television, on October 20, local time, the Wisconsin Senate approved a bill to expand labor law. The bill, called SB-22, will allow teenagers aged 14 and 15 to work between 6 a.m. and 21:30 p.m. the next day when they have a class hour, and between 6 a.m. and 23 p.m. the next day when there is no class. This means that 14- and 15-year-olds can work until 23:00 at the latest in the future.
Screenshot of the Capitol Hill report
This range of working hours is much later than the time allowed by the state's current law. Under Wisconsin's current U.S. Federal Child Labor Act, teenagers under the age of 16 can work between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. between June 1 and U.S. Labor Day, and only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. for the rest of the year.
However, the bill will reportedly retain federal regulations, including limits on teenagers working 6 days a week, with a maximum of 3 hours per day on school days and 8 hours per day on non-school days. In addition, the act applies only to businesses that are not subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act. That means businesses with more than $500,000 a year, as well as jobs involving interstate trade, won't be covered by the new bill.
As for the bill, proponents claim it helps address the state's labor shortage. State Senator Mary Felzkowski, Republican, and State Rep. And Republican Amy Loudenbeck reportedly testified to the state Labor and Regulatory Reform Commission in June that the bill would help small businesses during the peak tourist season.
"During the summer tourist season, the flow of businesses across the state has increased dramatically," they said. In this case, it is difficult for companies to find odd jobs and seasonal workers." As a result, companies often employ young people. Under the state's current legislation, some businesses can only choose to close early because young employees cannot work late at night.
Lobbyists in the state's hotel and restaurant industries also support the bill, and the Wisconsin Restaurant Association said in June that extending the working hours for teenagers could help address staffing. According to Kristine Hillmer, the association's chief executive, restaurants across the state are raising wages because of the difficulty in recruiting employees. She said some junior dishwashers start at $15 or more an hour.
But while republicans in the state and the hotel and restaurant industries strongly support the bill, Democrats in the state and the Confederation of Labor Unions of Wisconsin, the Confederation of Trade Unions of Industry (AFL-CIO), are opposed. The union group said the bill weakened child labor protection laws and that supporters did not say why changes were needed.
Business owner Maggie Richter said she understands the bill will help small, hard-to-recruit stores through the storm, but she's also a parent. "I think (working until the latest) 23 o'clock is too much for me. I don't know what other business owners think, but I think 23 is too aggressive. Richter also said she didn't want her children to fall behind academically and wanted them to get a good night's sleep. The latest is only 21:30, because the children are still too young. ”
Democrats, including state Senators Bob Wirch and Chris Larson, also opposed the bill. "Kids should do homework at school, not work longer," Welch said. Larson further said that looser child labor laws are not the answer to the labor shortage — good wages and benefits and safer working conditions. "The main responsibility of children is their education. They're better off investing in their futures than working longer during their teenage years. ”
In addition, this bill has also caused a relatively widespread discussion on US social platforms. Benjamin Norton, a journalist with more than 170,000 followers, tweeted and taunted: "Extreme capitalism in the United States continues to drag the world back to feudalism, and now more child labor is coming." ”
In its comments section, there are U.S. users who directly comment, "We're crazy." Others give "advice": "Let unvaccinated people work to end COVID-19 so that children don't have to work." ”
Still, there are users who are still trying to explain that "the problem is this state, not capitalism."
It should be mentioned that according to the "Business Insider" website, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in August, wisconsin currently has nearly 3 million people employed, roughly equivalent to the number of people employed before the outbreak. But businesses across the state still say they're struggling to find enough workers.
Business Insider also said the bill is not specifically addressed to labor shortages. The bill was introduced in April, when the U.S. labor shortage wasn't as severe as it is now.
Now, as the U.S. labor shortage crisis worsens, some companies are already using young employees to fill the labor shortage. In Oregon, for example, a McDonald's is calling on fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds to go to work, and a banner it hangs prominently printed the words "Now hiring 14-15-year-olds."
Chain brands such as Burger King have also recently released similar notices. Earlier this year, a Burger King restaurant in Ohio had a sign that read, "Do you have kids 14 or 15 years old?" Do they need to work? We will hire them! ”
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