By GEORGIA HILL
Capital News Service
LANSING — A new law will tighten work restrictions for 14- to 17-year-olds and transition the work permit process to a centralized, online state system.
The legislation, proposed by Democratic Reps. Phil Skaggs of East Grand Rapids, Veronica Paiz of Harper Woods and Helena Scott of Detroit will limit 14- and 15-year-olds to working between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. during the school week, with a maximum of three hours per day and 18 hours per week.
Currently, Michigan child labor laws limit them to working between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m during the school week, with a maximum of three hours per day and 18 hours per week while school is in session.
The new restriction on working hours is intended to better support and protect minors’ education, according to Skaggs, and will take effect on March 31.
In addition, the new law will shift oversight of all youth work permits to the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.
Beginning Oct. 1, the department will issue and manage work permits through a centralized online system.
“With the current system, chances are rare that employers will get caught for violating child labor laws,” Skaggs said, referring to a 2023 New York Times investigation that exposed several employers, including a factory in Grand Rapids, for exploiting migrant children.
“The only real enforcement happens when something horrible happens to a child on the job, or if there is a whistleblower,” Skaggs said.
Skaggs said that in one...
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