Should Minors Work Full Time on Hazardous Construction Jobsites?

A bill introduced in the Florida legislature would provide exemptions allowing minors as young as 16 to work on roofing jobs, while also revising requirements to expand career fairs to help employers recruit students to the trades.

Florida State Senate Bill 460, introduced Nov. 14 by State Sen. Corey Simon, a Republican, would allow minors with OSHA 10 certifications to perform commercial and residential roofing work, as long as a worker who is 21 or older with two years of experience and the same certification supervises.

Additionally, the bill would require annual career fairs at high schools to provide students in 11th and 12th grade with the chance to meet with employers from industries like agriculture, construction and nursing to learn about career and technical education.

Safety and labor needs

Florida isn’t the first state to pursue such legislation, though unlike other efforts, the bill focuses specifically on the trades. In March, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a law rolling back child labor protections. 

The Youth Hiring Act of 2023 rid the state of the requirement that children below 16 years old need to obtain permission from the Division of Labor to be employed, streamlined the hiring process for those in that age group, and eliminated requirements for obtaining employment certificates and verifying proof of their age. 

Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and New Hampshire all introduced legislation or considered bills around the same time as Arkansas that would loosen child labor protections, the New Republic reported.

To read the rest of this story from our sister publication, Construction Dive, click here.