The year is 2023 and we as a country are somehow talking about child labor laws again.
Several states, most notably Arkansas, have passed or are considering bills that loosen restrictions on minors getting jobs. To be clear, these laws mostly apply to 14- and 15-year-olds as those younger, for the most part, are not allowed to work under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, and states typically don’t require permits for 16- and 17-year-olds to get a job. Some of the state laws under consideration violate that federal law, setting up potential future legal challenges.
These bills are being touted as a way to help with the nationwide labor shortage. But if we have to turn to teens in the workplace as our solution, we’ve entirely missed the point.
None of this is to say there’s no value in minors having jobs. It’s a way for them to learn or reinforce a number of important life skills: showing up on time, managing a set of tasks over a period of time, working alongside others with different work habits, dealing with difficult people, etc.
Working a job, proving to yourself that you can handle the responsibilities, is an amazing confidence builder for teens seeking more independence from their parents, setting themselves up for success in any kind of post-high school education they pursue and jobs they’ll hold as young adults. It can help them figure out what they want to do later in life; conversely, it can also help them figure out what kind of jobs or degrees they don’t...
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