BATON ROUGE, La. — Right now in Louisiana, any child who decides to get a job is required to take a 30-minute break if they work for five hours, but a proposed bill being considered by the Louisiana Legislature is looking to change that. The bill, proposed by Representative Roger Wilder, would repeal the current law so there would be no requirements.
"This bill is about maximizing employment and providing employers with the workforce they need," Rep. Wilder said Friday while presenting his bill to the committee.
Wilder says the break shouldn't be a requirement, instead, he says children should be able to choose to take a break, both because they should be treated as adults and because they are losing wages.
"The wording here is we’re here to harm children that's the wording. Give me a break they’re young adults," Wilder said. "The emancipation age is 16, you're allowed to marry at 16, you’re allowed to drive at 16. Those are all adult actions."
Nick Felton with the AFL-CIO opposes the bill and says minors who choose to work are not adults. Plus, he says taking away breaks from kids can be harmful.
"At the end of the day, they're still kids, their bodies are still growing, their minds are still growing," Felton said. "They still need our protection."
The bill passed through Committee 10 to three and is now headed to the full house.
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