West Virginia lawmakers are moving forward with a bill eliminating work permits for 14 and 15-year olds, despite concerns about what the change will mean for minors.
The House of Delegates voted 83-16 Tuesday to pass HB 5159, legislation that would eliminate youth work permits. These documents currently require several layers of approval from an employer, a parent or guardian, the youth’s school, and county school officials.
Instead, if the bill becomes law, the permits would be replaced with an age certificate, a less detailed document that confirms that a minor is at least 14 before they can start working. Minors 16 and older currently use age certificates for employment in West Virginia.
Supporters of the bill argue that eliminating the work permits, in particular the school approval component, is necessary to ensure parents are controlling the process.
“I’m not sure why we insist that a child, an individual, has to go to their school to get permission to go to work,” Del. Michael Hite, R-Berkeley, the bill’s lead sponsor, said in an interview shortly before the vote. “My opinion is that should be between the child and their parent.”
Hite received input on the bill from the Foundation for Government Accountability, a Florida-based think tank that has pushed a significant number of child labor policy changes, and whose lobbying arm recently spoke in favor of expanding work requirements for some state food assistance beneficiaries. The organization has pushed for loosening or eliminating youth work permit laws in other states, including Arkansas, arguing that parents need more control over their child’s employment.
Despite this, the initial version of Hite’s bill also removed parental consent from the youth employment process, a loophole that the delegate attributed to an error. Parental permission was added back in when the bill was amended by the House Government Organization Committee.
On the floor Tuesday, some lawmakers argued that even with a parent’s permission, the bill removed helpful protections, saying that schools should also have a say in student employment to ensure that minors are not exploited. Others argued that the bill was the wrong approach to addressing the state’s ongoing labor force shortage.
“I know we have a workforce participation issue in West Virginia, and I know that we have issues with employment, but I do not think that opening up the labor force to 14-year-olds in eighth grade is the answer to the problems that we have,” said Del. Elliott Pritt, R-Fayette, a public school teacher.
Proponents of the bill, however, said that the bill would be helpful. “If there’s one thing kids today need in our society it’s to start learning work ethic at an earlier age, not a later age,” said Del. Todd Longanacre, R-Greenbrier.
Even if the bill is enacted, West Virginia, like every other state, is still required to follow the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, a federal labor law that outlines permissible child labor.
But some worry that the loosening of state restrictions could ultimately lead to a challenge of that broader law. Earlier this month the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute argued that the recent proposals targeting state child labor protections are part of “an intentional tactic to generate pressure for subsequently lowering federal standards, reflecting long-standing interests of some industry groups.”
Labor advocates also note that removing work permit requirements and other protections could further expose minors, who are already more likely to face exploitation and low wages, to harmful environments.
“This bill won’t increase safe youth work, but it will cause more school dropouts & unsafe work conditions,” the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy tweeted shortly after the House approved the legislation.
The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.