Florida Lawmakers Approve Teens Working More Construction Jobs

Florida 16- and 17-year-olds would be allowed to work on home construction sites without being part of a school-supervised career training program, under legislation heading to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

The bill (HB 917), which addresses career training broadly, won final passage in the House on Thursday. It underwent revisions since January that softened opposition from those who fear it might lead to minors working in hazardous jobs, resulting in a unanimous 32-0 Senate vote to approve it March 1 and a final vote of 105-3 in the House. An earlier version of the bill would have allowed 16- and 17-year-olds on commercial construction sites, and critics said its phrasing left open the possibility of teens working on roofs.

The final version limits underage workers to home construction sites and makes clear they aren’t allowed to work on any roof, ladder, or scaffolding higher than six feet. The bill also requires that minors working in construction have completed a 10-hour safety training via the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and that they be supervised by an adult 21 years or older who also has completed OSHA-10 training and has at least two years of experience related to the work they’re supervising.

The bill also drew criticism earlier this year from worker advocates and labor unions who said Republican lawmakers were seeking to back-fill a shortage of workers exacerbated by their passage of a 2023 law that made it harder for undocumented immigrants to live and work in the state. The bill’s sponsors denied any connection between the immigration law and this legislation.

This is one of at least two Florida bills advancing this year to relax the state’s child labor laws. Another (HB 49) would let teens work later and longer hours including on school nights.

The bills are part of a recent spate of legislative proposals in more than two dozen states to relax restrictions on employment of minors, coinciding with a rise in child labor law violations and a ramp-up in enforcement efforts by the US Labor Department. Those include an Iowa measure enacted in 2023 that US Labor Department officials said conflicts with federal child labor laws.

Florida law already allows 16- and 17-year-olds to work on construction sites if they’re part of a construction academy affiliated with a local school system. But many Florida counties don’t have a construction academy, leaving some teens without the option of getting that work experience before they finish high school, said Sen. Corey Simon (R), who co-sponsored the bill.

“That’s all this bill does is gives them an opportunity to engage the construction trades,” Simon said during Senate floor debate March 1.