Bill Eliminates Work Permits for Younger Teens
Democrats warn it undermines child labor laws. Legislation now goes to governor.
Wisconsin State Capitol. Photo by Mariiana Tzotcheva.
The Wisconsin Assembly concurred in a Senate bill that would eliminate work permits for 15- and 16-year-old teenagers in a party-line vote Tuesday.
The vote followed a half-hour debate in which the Republican supporters said they were simply seeking to remove “red tape” and “bureaucracy” from teenage job seekers and their families. They noted that the state has already eliminated work permits requirements for older teens, under legislation enacted during former Gov. Scott Walker’s last term in office.
“I think this is something good to instill the work ethic in some of our youth that have kind of gotten away from it with their cell phones and their tablets,” said Rep. Patrick Snyder (R-Schofield).
Democrats warned the measure would undermine child labor laws.
“This is not about creating opportunities for kids to build work ethics,” said Rep. Kristina Shelton (D-Green Bay), adding that it was demeaning and inaccurate to “talk about our kids as if they’re lazy and looking at their phones all the time.”
Work permits “ensure that we have oversight of our kids,” Shelton said.
Rep. Katrina Shankland (D-Stevens Point) noted notorious Wisconsin cases involving child labor violations, including a wood processing plant death last year.
The legislation “takes away an important layer of transparency and accountability, ensuring that our employers are following all the laws related to ensuring our kids serve safety in the workplace,” Shankland said.
Several Republican representatives emphasized that the bill, SB-436, wouldn’t change any regulations — only the permit requirement.
“Employers still need to follow all of Wisconsin’s child labor laws,” said Rep. William Penterman (R-Columbus). “This bill does not change that.”
Democrats noted, however, that the $10 fee for work permits goes to fund enforcement of child labor laws, provided by the Department of Workforce Development. The bill “takes away the funding for that,” Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee) said. “So now we’re going to have 14-, 15- 16- and 17-year-olds in the workforce with absolutely no way to monitor what is going on in their places of employment.”
The bill, which passed the Senate on a near-party-line vote in October, passed the Assembly 62-34 and now goes to Gov. Tony Evers, who has previously vetoed other bills relaxing child labor regulations.
Assembly Republicans vote to eliminate work permits for younger teens was originally published by Wisconsin Examiner.
Believe the Democrats have this right. Work permits allow certain degree of oversight for youth employment. Republicans want to reduce oversight in favor of a wide open youth employment with no safeguards. Bah Humbug!