LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Kentucky House will consider a bill that could weaken child labor laws.
House Bill 255 would remove working hour restrictions on 16 and 17-year-olds.
Older Kentucky teens would be able to work an unlimited number of hours each and at any hour when school is not in session.
The bill’s opponents argue it could lead to the exploitation of minors. The bill’s sponsor believes it will encourage kids to work more.
“I think this is good to get people out into the workplace, get them some work experience,” Rep. Bill Pratt, R-Georgetown, explained. “Hopefully they’ll get off the couch, quit Nintendo games and actually make money.”
Dustin Pugel with the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy doesn’t believe adding more to working teens’ plate will benefit them.
“It’s hard to see how allowing additional hours and days of work will not impinge on the success of preparing for post-secondary education or vocational pathways to good jobs following high school,” he said.
Gov. Andy Beshear was asked about the bill, and he said current laws have been established to protect education among kids.
“This idea that our children aren’t able to develop job skills when we’ve invested $250 million in career and technical education in our schools is simply wrong,” he said.
H.B. 255 was added to the orders of the day in the House for Tuesday.
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, or visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.
RELATED VIDEO