A bill aiming to lift some child labor restrictions was introduced to a Florida Senate committee on Tuesday. It was introduced after some restrictions had already been lifted last year. Gov. Ron DeSantis and some Republicans are saying it would help fill the void left by undocumented immigrants who are being removed from their positions.

The bill aims to lift some restrictions on child labor

Senate Bill 918 would let children 14 years old and up work overnight shifts and not require meal breaks for 16- and 17-year-old workers, according to Axios. It would also allow them to work unlimited hours during the school year.

Children between the ages of 14 and 15 would be able to work without restrictions if they graduated high school or are enrolled in at-home or virtual programs.

According to The Tallahassee Democrat, it would also remove restrictions on children’s ability to work earlier than 6:30 a.m. or later than 11 p.m. on school days.

The bill passed through the Florida Senate’s Commerce and Tourism committee. It will pass through two other committees before being introduced for a vote in the Florida Senate, according to CNN.

Florida has already recently lifted some child labor restrictions

Last year, the state passed a law allowing 16- and 17-year-olds who are homeschooled to work at any hour and over 30 hours during school weeks with parental permission.

“We warned this was just the beginning, that this was a slippery slope, and here we are again,” Jackson Oberlink of Florida For All, a justice advocacy organization, told The Tallahassee Democrat. “We’re facing another attempt to strip away basic safeguards for Florida’s children, all to appease corporate interests looking for cheap labor.”

Per the Florida Policy Institute, over 80,000 children aged 16 and 17 are currently employed in Florida. The organization said the law puts these young workers at risk of being exploited by their employers by requiring them to accept early and late work hours, which compromises their education.

There have been 209 child labor violations in Florida in 2023, according to the US Department of Labor statistics. This number has tripled in recent years.

Republicans want to replace undocumented workers with child labor

Gov. DeSantis said that the workforce has been reduced since the Trump administration’s efforts to remove undocumented immigrants working at lower-wage jobs.

“Why do we say we need to import foreigners, even import them illegally, when you know, teenagers used to work at these resorts. College students should be able to do this stuff,” he said, per The Tallahassee Democrat. “Yes, we had people that left because of those rules, but you’ve also been able to hire other people. And what’s wrong with expecting our young people to be working part-time now? I mean, that’s how it used to be when I was growing up.”

child labor

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week