Survey Shows New Rules Had Little Effect On Teen Employment

A new survey shows that tougher rules to limit teen work hours have had little or no impact on teen employment, state Department of Labor and Industries Director Mark O. Brown said Monday.

Brown said the report is the first phase of a larger study on the effects of the rules adopted two years ago.

“The report shows us that teens are working. Now we need to see what impact rules have on academic performance and safety. That thorough study will take more time,” Brown said.

More than 82 percent of the 395 employers who responded to the survey said there was no impact on employment due to the rule change, Brown said.

“There was little or no change to the number of positions available to minors, the number of minors employed or the average number of hours each minor worked,” he said.

About 15 percent of employers said they were hurt by the rules. Brown said those employers want to extend the mandatory quitting time by an hour, from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m., for 16- and 17-year-olds on school nights.

The rules, adopted in late 1992 under former Gov. Booth Gardner and put into effect by Gov. Mike Lowry and Brown, have created a new stir among lawmakers, mainly Republicans.

Last week, GOP lawmakers pointed to the rules as examples of regulation run amok and argued the regulations are opposed by the vast majority of parents and young people who work.

House Republicans say they will try to repeal the rules. Lowry says he will fight such efforts.

The rules allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work 28 hours a week during the school year, with approval of parents, school and employer. Without that approval, they can work 20 hours a week during the school year. During nonschool periods, 16- and 17-year-olds can work 48 hours.

Fourteen and 15-year-olds can work up to 16 hours during the school year and 40 during nonschool weeks.

“I recognize there are some in the Legislature who oppose these regulations, and I respect their right to hold that opinion,” Brown said. “But I would respectfully disagree with any who say we have exceeded our authority.”

Brown contended that the Legislature, through statute, gave his agency authority to regulate workplaces to protect the health and safety of workers.