HB255 repeals a section of state law that prevents the Department of Workplace Standards from making “child labor” regulations less restrictive than those imposed by the United States Secretary of Labor.
The House passed HB255 on February 22, 2024, by a vote of 60 to 36. We have assigned pluses to the yeas because young adults (e.g., 17 or 16-year-olds), who have reached an age of discretion, should not be subject to “child labor laws” or other unreasonable barriers to willful and gainful employment. Parents—not the government—ought to have the final authority and say as to whether their minor children can work. Kentucky must protect the fundamental rights of parents and freedom of association of the American people, which are retained under the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.