Legislation is moving closer to final passage that would end the requirement for employers to give minor workers at least a 20-minute meal break if they work five hours or more. Denham Springs Republican Representative Roger Wilder says the state should not hold back teen workers who want to put in the hours.
“Teenagers will quit a job today if you ask them to tuck their shirt in and you look at them the wrong way. Nobody wants to work. So the ones that do want to show up to work, they want to work,” Wilder said.
Wilder’s legislation has already passed the House and it received unanimous approval from the Senate Labor Committee on Wednesday. Wilder says he’s been speaking with young workers about staying on the clock for long periods of time.
“One young lady who was 19 actually said that we, as a state, give her an hour break on her eight-hour shift. She never takes it. She just works straight through it, because she wants that extra hour of pay,” Echols said.
Wilder also points out that kids in school go for a long period of time, especially if they are involved in extracurricular activities.
“13 and 14-year-olds could be freshmen, and they could go to school for seven and a half hours at Airline and get a 20-minute lunch break. Guess What? If they want a 30-minute lunch break, they get a detention. They have no choice in a school,” Echols said.
The bill heads to the full Senate for final passage.
Comments