Many teenagers want to work longer hours and earn more, which would be beneficial to them and their savings.
As long as they willingly take on these additional hours, teenagers from the ages 14-15 should be permitted to work later hours.
Currently, teenagers from the ages 14-15 can work after 7 and to 9 p.m. only during ‘school breaks’. School breaks in the context meaning they’re permitted to work these hours during summer and winter breaks. There’s a clear benefit to these additional hours, especially now. Many would benefit from these additional hours, being able to save money for a car, college, a house, whatever they may need in the future, even if it’s just to invest. Ohio lawmakers recently passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 3 which would allow teenagers to work between 7-9 p.m. during the school year if the teen has their parent or guardian’s permission. On the basis of this being passed, Ohio state Rep. Mark Johnson, R-Chillicothe said, “Give 14 and 15 year olds another opportunity to stay an extra hour to work at a grocery store bagging groceries or even to make an extra buck.” With the extra insistence of parent permission, there really is no reason to not permit teenagers to work these bonus hours.
Some, however, oppose the bill; Lauren McNally, D-Youngstown, argues that it’s feeding a system of perpetuity which causes many to fall short. The representative states, “It’s about filling corporate pockets. … The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was our promise to America’s children: You deserve a childhood. You deserve an education. You deserve safety. Now you want to tear that promise apart for profit.” Teenagers ages 14-15 aren’t paid Ohio’s own minimum wage($10.70 per hour), they’re paid federal minimum wage ($7.25 per hour). “We’ve created a system where families are forced to rely on their kid’s wages just to survive, and instead of fixing that by paying adults a living wage by supporting affordable child care, we’re about to hand corporations a new generation of underpaid, overworked, under-protected employees, and shame on us if we let that happen,” McNally furthers her point.
While the many who are in support of the bill don’t have malicious intent, they do want to see these children prosper. It’s undermined by the state of the economy and how families sometimes have to have their kids work to help with their underlying financial struggle. It’s truly a mixed bag; they’re frankly children. Some are forced to work to feed their families. For the few that are working to work–just to spend for themselves–this is a fine bill, but for those who are forced to work at such a young age to support their family, it’s an underlying issue. While unfortunate, there needs to be a systematic change, and children shouldn’t have to work for their families sake. At the bare minimum, they deserve Ohio’s minimum wage.
