Teens Act expands youth work hours

Summary#

The TEENS Act would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which governs federal child-labor rules. Its stated goal is to expand work hours for employees ages 14 to 16 while school is in session; it is not yet law.

  • The Secretary of Labor could not treat covered employees’ work as “oppressive child labor” because of the number of hours worked if they work no more than 24 hours in a week when school is in session.
  • To meet that condition, work must begin no earlier than 7:00 a.m. and end no later than 9:00 p.m., in the time zone where the work takes place.
  • The bill changes a limit on what the Secretary may determine. It does not require employers to offer work or young people to take it.

What it means for you#

  • Young workers: The bill could allow more work hours during school weeks under this part of federal law. It sets a weekly cap and a daily time window, but does not set a daily-hours limit.
  • Employers: The bill could give employers more room to schedule covered young workers, subject to the bill’s conditions and any other applicable rules.
  • Parents and the public: The bill does not create a new youth-work program or directly change pay, benefits, or school requirements.
  • Everyone: The bill has been introduced and referred to a House committee. It has not changed the law.

Money#

No publicly available information on the bill’s cost is included in the supplied materials.

  • The bill does not provide funding or set fees or fines.
  • The materials do not estimate any change in public spending or employers’ costs.

What is unclear#

  • The Fair Labor Standards Act itself was not supplied, so the existing federal rules and how this amendment would change them cannot be fully verified.
  • The text refers to “such employees” without defining that group in the amendment. The bill’s title describes workers ages 14 to 16, but the precise coverage cannot be confirmed from the supplied text alone.
  • The bill does not explain how this change would interact with other child-labor rules.
  • The text does not set a start date or describe enforcement, reporting, or review procedures.

Case for#

  • The bill appears intended to let young people work more hours during school weeks while keeping a weekly cap and limiting work to 7:00 a.m. through 9:00 p.m.
  • A possible argument for the bill is that those limits could give employers and young workers more scheduling flexibility without allowing work at any hour or for an unlimited number of hours.
  • The bill would stop the Secretary from classifying qualifying hours as oppressive child labor solely because of the number of hours worked.

Case against#

  • One concern is that 24 hours in a school week could still mean long workdays: the bill sets no daily-hours limit.
  • The permitted window extends to 9:00 p.m., and the bill does not set a separate limit for evenings before school days.
  • It is unclear how the new limit would fit with other federal child-labor rules or what protections would still apply.