Iowa House lawmakers change child-labor bill, restricting younger workers from certain fields

House lawmakers sent back to the Senate a child-labor bill on Tuesday after changing language to limit the employment of 14- and 15-year-olds in some restricted fields.

Senate File 542 passed the Iowa House on a 60-34 vote, with members voting along party lines. The bill allowing minors to work longer hours and in restricted fields has received national attention for allowing children to work in dangerous fields if given a waiver by Iowa Workforce Development and the state Department of Education.

While the original bill allowed the state to grant waivers so that 14- to 17-year-olds could work in those restricted fields, the amended version would allows such waivers only for 16- and 17-year-olds. The bill’s floor manager, Rep. Dave Deyoe, R-Nevada, and House Republican leaders worked with Democrats to craft the amendment, which was approved unanimously.

House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst said the House’s bipartisan compromise eliminates some of the most “egregious” elements in the original bill. Democrats still voted against the amended legislation, which they said would still put youth workers in dangerous environments.

“It’s better than the Senate’s because we came together to make it better,” Konfrst said. “And I am so grateful, but also so proud that the amendment here makes this bill better — doesn’t make it great, but it makes it better — and it makes it better for Iowans.

The amendment restricted which waivers workers under age 18 could seek. It allows the Iowa Department of Education and Iowa Workforce Development directors to waive only the limits on hours — but not on the restricted fields — for 14- and 15-year-old workers. The new language would also remove some exemptions for minor workers in fields including logging, roofing and several jobs involving heavy machinery and dangerous materials.

Rep. Jeff Cooling, D-Cedar Rapids, said while he appreciated the amendment, he was not comfortable with 16- and 17-year-olds working in some of the allowed fields such as demolition, roofing and excavation operations. Deyoe said several of the fields Cooling mentioned, such as working with explosives or certain chemicals, are not eligible for exemptions under the bill.

One of the major concerns brought up during subcommittee and committee meetings was the potential for minors to be put at greater risk of sexual assault when serving alcohol at later hours. While the Senate language stipulated 16- and 17-year-olds would not be allowed to work in bars but would be allowed to serve and sell alcohol in restaurants, the amendment added language stipulating that workers under 18 would only serve alcohol in restaurants before their kitchens close.

The House also added requirements for restaurant employees to take sexual harassment prevention training, and for restaurants to notify their dram shop liability insurer of their intent to employ a minor to serve or sell alcohol. The amended bill also requires that two adult employees be physically present when a minor is serving alcohol. Anyone determined to be a sex offender or a sexually violent predator could not employ minors.

If a workplace harassment incident does happen, the House language requires employers to report that information to both the minor worker’s parents and the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. Konfrst said those changes address the issues some employers had with the current law while keeping Iowa youth safe.

“I know we’ve heard (it’s only) taking a beer from the counter to the table,'” Konfrst said. “I can understand that. A lot of us have worked in food service and understand how much easier that would be. We just wanted to make sure that those kids are safe.”

While the risks that young workers may face serving inebriated customers at night was tackled in the amendment, Cooling said he believed the extension of work hours in the bill could put those young workers at greater risk. He cited several articles on ice cream shop robberies from around the state, which typically occur when the locations are getting ready to close.

“Although Dairy Queen is pretty well seen as the inside of, you know, a safe workplace to work at, there’s still dangers out there,” Cooling said. “And allowing our kids to work later hours … there’s crime that happens at night, they could be robbed or killed or worse, just in their line of work. And nobody, nobody should have to experience that.”

Deyoe said Democrats had misrepresented — or misunderstood — several components of the bill. He emphasized the earlier provisions on 15-year-old employees driving to work were removed from the legislation, which was changed to create a committee that would study the notion of allowing teens age 14 and older to obtain a special driver’s permit to transport themselves to and from work.

While Democrats criticized the move raising the maximum daily hours for workers under age 16 from four to six hours, and allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to work as much as adults, Deyoe said federal law already allows 16- and 17-year-olds to work adult hours.

Deyoe argued the bill is not putting Iowa youth in more dangerous positions is amending an existing “badly written” law while allowing teenagers to take advantage of new career opportunities.

“Some of these benefits include less poverty, money for future education, less delinquent behavior, experience in the workplace and access to mentors and role models,” Deyoe said. “And finally, exposure to careers may mean more a more successful future.”

The House’s amendment must now be approved by the Senate before it can head to Gov. Kim Reynolds for her approval. Reynolds told reporters in April she is supportive of expanding youth employment in Iowa.

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