A proposed Florida law seeking to roll back restrictions on teenage labor was drafted by a far-right conservative think tank pushing similar efforts nationwide
A new measure in Florida aims to allow 16-year-old kids to drop out of school and work full time.
An amendment to HB 49 — offered by the bill’s author, state Rep. Linda Chaney ® — would eliminate laws that prevent 16 and 17-year-olds from working more than 30 hours a week, impose 8-hour workday restrictions, and guarantee mandated breaks every four hours.
The bill, introduced in September and now under review by the Florida House Regulatory Reform and Economic Development Subcommittee, would relegate 16 and 17-year-olds to virtually the same status as an employee who is over 18 years of age — provided that the teens have either formally dropped out of school or are taking classes online or at home. Furthermore, the bill would also severely curtail local municipalities’ ability to implement their own provisions to combat the workplace exploitation of minors.
Matt Gaetz was immediately on board after seeing the headline and then learned that it was about employment.
The one time Gaetz will agree with the left that sex work is work.
Once again, big bad government stands in the way of a job creator.
They clearly want a dumb youth. Funny that if they get their way, they won’t even be around to see the state of the country by that point.
They clearly want slavery but can’t get away with outright slavery rn, but once they can they will have their slaves again.
They certainly can get away with slavery, ever heard of the prison system?
I hate when people like you get pendantic about slavery, sure of course I’ve heard of the prison system, like who tf hasn’t? My asshole father is only a retired Riker’s island guard.
So the vast majority of the prison system doesn’t practice slavery/forced labor/indentured servitude. Also most labor in the prison system is voluntary, because sitting around a prison all day sucks and is boring as hell, and picking up litter is a chance to be outside of the walls while doing the community a service, yes I get not all of prison labor is litter work it’s just an example, again I know about this too firsthand from some time spent in jail in my younger and dumber youth.
Sure i don’t agree with every law on the books, especially every law that will land you in prison, especially stuff like marijuana laws, however with that said, also sure, most people in the prison system should be in a robust well regulated mental healthcare system instead, also sure a sizable portion of the prison system comes from poverty related crimes that could be better addressed with stronger safety nets and rehabilitation, but there are legit criminals in there too, people that prey on other people in one way or the other, and those people obviously deserve to be in prison or something prison adjacent that can help improve them or something.
So with that said the difference is there’s prison and there’s slavery, you can get out of prison through legal means, you cannot get out of slavery. Your life and physical well-being is in danger more in slavery than prison, there are no regulations, oversight, or watchdogs for slavery, yet ine the prison system when things aren’t being hindered by conservative shitheads only interested in vengeance upon the “sinners” the system has these safeguards.
Overall there’s a huge difference between being beaten, raped, and murdered for the various reasons that that will happen to slaves, as opposed to the same happening because the guard(s) are criminals, the prison leadership is abusive, neglectful, and/or corrupt, or that the criminal justice system is broken, and that difference is slavery is criminal, yet our criminal justice system is simply rife with systemic failures and human failures, we can fix the prison system, we have no power over criminals who enslave people, outside of imprisoning them after due process.
That’s because they don’t actually WANT anything, they are just against everything. Consequences don’t matter.
Of course they want something. They want money. They want power. They want to eliminate dissent. They want the people they don’t like to be hurt.
They also want to curtail workers rights. Why pay an adult wage when you can pay a poor child who lives at home with momma
So how does a full time employee 16 year old protect their income from being taken by guardians? Can you get a checking account without a parent signing on? How does a 16 year old arrange for housing needs or set up accounts to pay utilities?
That’s not their problem. These lawmaker’s only concern is protecting the interests of the business owners they represent above their constituents, they couldn’t care less what happens to the kids their stripping labor protections from.
From what I understand, the only real way would be for the kid to protect their money is to put it in some sort of trust or custodial account (which they would likely need an adult to help set up) until they turn 18.
Give teenagers rights, but no one wants to do that. Adults like having an underclass they can exploit and abuse without consequence
A 16 year old can get emancipation from the court in Florida. Doing so would make it so parents or guardian would no longer have claim over any money earned.
That’s the one decent argument for this law; an emancipated 16 year old needs the ability to work a full time job to support themselves as no one else is legally required to do so.
Why else do we call them ‘miners’?
Can we fucking not? These laws were written in blood.
By boomers’ parents. The narcissist boomers don’t have the empathy for others.
Now if only they could go after environmental laws too so we can go back to the good old days.
The great William Blake even wrote a poem immortalizing the joys of children working as chimney sweepers, and now we deny them of that.
Through hard labour and faith in Christianity, the children can reach their ultimate reward.
“the children yearn for the mines”
Silicosis, dismemberment, Death. Death like symptoms?
Thanks for introducing me to that poem. Really drives home how you can make child labour sound positive, while driving home biting critisim “dont worry, you and your friends will soon be dead after a brutal short life, but HEAVEN!!!”
I read a bunch of his poems growing up, but that one has always stuck with me.
The ending feels as true now as then, there’re so many situations where people dismiss the suffering of others as “gods plan” when none of it has to happen.
Ultimate Reward
A good pat on the head for a job well done.
In the poem it’s a black coffin and green fields in heaven.
If you pay them it will only make it harder for them to get into heaven, and who would want to deprive the children of their best chances of eternal joy?
I bet none of the children of the people who wrote this law will end up working in a factory though. I think in every single story I’ve read about teenagers getting maimed or killed in a factory they were a migrant from Latin America. The same people Republicans demonize on a daily basis. It’s disgusting.
Republicans have horrible ideas. Stop voting for them.
The orphan-grinding machine demands cheap labor
Can’t run out of a supply of people to exploit. Who better then those who can’t defend themselves and are extremely vulnerable?
This is the party so concerned about children. Woo!
I wasn’t aware Florida had any remaining labor restrictions.
Jbfc that is so cruel. This is capitalism. We work long hours to survive. If we need children to do this, we have fucked up.
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How can anyone put their name to that and still look themselves in the mirror in the morning? Jesus christ, that’s ghoulish.
