Ohio may let kids as young as 14 work late on school nights to help with 'staffing problems'

Fourteen and 15-year-olds across Ohio could be allowed to work until 9 p.m. on a school night if a bill moving its way through Ohio's statehouse passes.

Current Ohio law prohibits kids under 16 from working past 7 p.m.

Senate Bill 251 unanimously passed the state Senate Tuesday afternoon and could be taken up by the House on Wednesday. It would allow teenagers (ages 14 and 15) to work until 9 p.m. during the school year if their parents give permission.

"Doing so will help employers across Ohio and our country with their staffing problems...," Sen. Tim Schaffer, R-Lancaster, said. "And I want to be clear that this legislation reinforces the guardrails protecting 14- and 15-year-olds that are already in Ohio law."

Under the bill, Ohioans under the age of 16 cannot work between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., they cannot work more than three hours on a school day, and they cannot work more than 18 hours in a school week.

What SB 251 would do is change the language that lets students work past 7 p.m. from "June 1 and September 1 or during any school holiday of five school days or more" to all year with parental permission.

"While a limit is appropriate for younger workers, we believe that 9 p.m. is reasonable," Ohio Restaurant Association Director of Government Affairs Tod Bowen said during testimony in December 2021.

No one came to testify in opposition to the bill, and the only objection raised by lawmakers Tuesday was a hope that perhaps, at some point, grade point average could become a factor in determining eligibility to work.

"Anytime we can provide assistance to get our kids to understand and learn responsibility is a good day," Sen. Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, said.

Thirteen states, including Michigan, allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work these extra hours, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

But Ohio's new law would only apply to businesses that are exempted from the Fair Labor Standards Act. The FLSA says children between the ages of 14-16 can only work past 7 p.m. during the summer, and it applies to enterprises with an annual gross volume of sales above $500,000 or those engaged in interstate commerce.

Basically, federal law would prohibit national chains from letting kids work later but not your local deli.

"If an employer is subject to both the FLSA and a state law, whichever law is more protective of the minor prevails," according to the Ohio Legislative Services Commission's nonpartisan analysis of SB 251.

But Melissa Cropper, the president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers, isn't convinced that extending the hours these teenagers can work is in their best interests.

"I’m not saying people are irresponsible," Cropper said. "We're putting choices out there that are making it very difficult for them."

That's especially true, in her opinion, for economically disadvantaged students who might feel familial or circumstantial pressure to work late.

"We’re potentially putting them in a position where they are having to choose working late to bring more money in for my family," she said.

And the bigger issue she has is that at a time when lawmakers are moving to overhaul Ohio's public education system due to what supporters of Senate Bill 178 describe as inaction by current leadership, lawmakers are passing bills to help the restaurant industry.

"The whole point here is that we’re blaming the education system and department for things like absenteeism when decisions like this impact it," Cropper said. "We’re sending a message to students that working is more important perhaps than your academic success."

Anna Staver is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio might let 14,15-year-olds work past 7 p.m. on school nights