Florida Child Labor Bill Letting Teens Work Overnight, Removing Some Breaks, Advances

TALLAHASSEE—Florida teens could work night shifts and eight hours without a meal break, according to a controversial child labor bill that passed its first Senate committee on Tuesday. 

Filed by Republican Sen. Jay Collins, SB 918 continues the Republican-led Legislature’s efforts from last year to loosen child labor laws. This comes after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a watered-down version of the measure last March, which let homeschooled 16-year-olds work longer hours, and as the federal government cracks down on migrants illegally residing and working in the U.S. 

But under this bill, all 16-year-olds could work overnight and without a break after working for eight hours, even while school is in session. If passed, the measure would also apply to 14-year-olds enrolled in virtual school.

“As a parent, we inherently know our children best,” said Collins in Tuesday’s Senate Committee on Commerce and Tourism. “This is not about corporations—this is not about demonizing small businesses…it is about providing soft skills and [learning] executive function.”

Collins stressed that this is a parental rights issue, not one of “demonizing the employer.” He noted the importance of teenagers having the right to work, and said he’s simply trying to align Florida with federal labor laws.

But opponents like Democrat Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith argued this is an attempt to swap out deported immigrant labor with child labor. He repeated a DeSantis quote from last week, when the governor questioned why members of the left “say we need to import foreigners” illegally when “teenagers used to work at resorts—college students should be able to do this stuff.”

“[DeSantis] said the quiet part out loud, the quiet part being that we’re somehow gonna solve the current labor shortage that we have in Florida, that was worsened by anti-immigrant rhetoric, with child labor,” Smith said.

The attempted alteration of Florida labor laws comes as the Sunshine State partners with the federal government to detain and deport illegal immigrants. All 67 counties have entered into an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At the same time, a slew of state bills have been filed to require all employers to verify the immigration status of potential hires.

In 2023, businesses employing more than 25 workers were required to use E-Verify, an online service that runs immigration background checks on employees. A year later, the legislature tried to pass a massive loosening of child labor laws, but it was watered down to only apply to homeschooled 16-year-olds.

What Does the Bill Do?

SB 918 would allow 16 and 17-year-olds to work before 6:30 am or later than 11 pm on school days, which is currently prohibited. It would expand these hours to 14 and 15-year-olds who are homeschooled, enrolled in virtual school, or who have a high school diploma.

It would also allow these teens to work more than 30 hours weekly when school is in session.

And while Collins argued this would help educate children and expand parental rights, 22-year-old Leydi Amador from Miami-Dade told the Senate committee that she was exploited at every job she worked at as a minor.

“Every single job they took advantage of me, in every single space, and I did not tell my parents because I wanted to provide for them,” she said, explaining that she’d worked since she was 15 to help support her parents, who’d immigrated from Cuba. “Employers will take advantage of children.”

After the committee, however, Collins told reporters that Amador’s case was the exception, not the rule.

“I think she’s an incredible story in and of itself, but that is a unique situation and a unique part of the American dream,” he said.

Republican Sen. Joe Gruters joined Democrats in voting against the bill, which ultimately passed the Senate committee. Republican Senators Nick DiCeglie and Tom Wright also expressed concerns, but agreed to vote in favor of the bill for now because it’s only the first of its three scheduled committees.

It will head to the Committee on Regulated Industries.