Iowa governor signs bill loosening child labor laws

DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa youngsters may just paintings extra jobs and for longer hours below a bill signed into legislation Friday by way of Gov. Kim Reynolds.

The Republican governor signed the legislation after it used to be authorized by way of the Legislature previous in May with most effective Republican reinforce. Several states are embracing a rollback of child labor laws according to lawsuits from industry house owners that they are able to’t in finding sufficient staff. Iowa’s April unemployment fee used to be 2.7%.

“With this regulation Iowa joins 20 different states in offering adapted, commonplace sense labor provisions that permit younger adults to broaden their abilities within the personnel,” Reynolds said in a statement.

Child welfare advocates worry the measures represent a coordinated push to scale back hard-won protections for minors.

Legislators removed language in earlier versions of the bill that would have let state officials allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work in jobs now banned for minors. Some potentially dangerous work such as mining and meatpacking also would be off limits to those younger than 18.

The new law would let 16- and 17-year-olds work in areas such as manufacturing as long as it was in a work-based learning program given an exemption by the Iowa Department of Education or Iowa Workforce Development. Those jobs could potentially mean the teens would operate power saws or join in demolition.

Under the new rules, 16- and 17-year-olds also could serve alcohol in restaurants as long as business owners have written permission from the worker’s parent or guardian. Two adult employees would need to be in an area where the children served drinks, and restaurant employees would need to complete sexual harassment prevention training.

The law would also let children younger than 16 work up to six hours a day while school is in session. They previously could work no more than four hours.

Reynolds on Friday signed a dozen expenses into legislation forward of the Memorial Day vacation weekend, together with high-profile regulation that bans instruction on gender id from study rooms thru grade six, and books that come with intercourse acts from faculty libraries.