Required meal breaks for child workers in Louisiana could be repealed
The Louisiana Legislature is looking to roll back some of the child labor laws. It could have an impact on break times for children.
BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) -- The Louisiana Legislature is looking to roll back some of the child labor laws. It could have an impact on break times for children.
HB156 removes the state's requirement for minors to take a 30-minute meal break if they work for at least five hours. The bill is being carried by state Rep. Roger Wilder, R-Denham Springs, who owns a number of Smoothie King franchises across the state. He believes removing the rule is a positive thing.
Under current state law, anyone under 18 has to be given a 30-minute break if they work five hours. Wilder said the law is outdated and that teens should be able to decide if they want a break and save businesses from facing fines and paperwork.
“The wording is ‘we're here to harm children’... Give me a break. I mean, these are young adults... The law's got a hypocrisy to it,” Wilder said.
Wilder claims teens lose out on getting jobs because businesses don’t want to have the risk of not meeting the requirements. He also said a teen can leave a job that doesn’t offer them a break without the law.
“When I hear 16 and 17-year-olds, I think of a young adult. I believe that our young adults can make decisions without a babysitter. I believe this age group is capable of deciding if they would like to change jobs if they're in an environment that does not help them,” Wilder said.
State Rep. Tammy Phelps, D-Shreveport, wanted to know more about if there are a lot of kids asking for this bill.
“Do you have an outcry for the minors who don't want to take a break and know that they have the rest of their lives to work and be an adult? And that there are safeguards for being a minor [worker]?” Phelps said.
Dozens of labor groups and other workers put in cards against the bill. The president of the Louisiana AFL-CIO said in a statement that there are much bigger issues the legislature should be focusing on rather than children’s meal breaks.
The bill now heads to the full House for more debate.
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