An Indiana Republican state senator has got a great idea for his business: loosen up those restrictive child labor protections! Specifically, he wants to lengthen the amount of time children are allowed to work. State Sen. Chip Perfect* proposed Senate Bill 342 which, according to the Indianapolis Star, would “get rid of work permit requirements for minors and remove all restrictions on what hours 16- and 17-year-old Hoosiers can work.” In a totally unrelated news story, Rep. Chip Perfect is the CEO of Perfect North Slopes. He employs somewhere between 300 and 400 minors.
But less you think state Sen. Perfect is thinking about his clear conflict of interest in the matter, his SB 342 wants to assure you that this about saving the poor Indiana Department of Labor money. Newsweek points to this passage from the bill:
"The bill will decrease expenditures and workload for the DOL. The bill repeals Indiana child labor laws including the DOL’s responsibility to enforce the law, eliminating the need for inspections to ensure compliance with child labor laws as well as the necessity to educate employers on child labor laws in Indiana," the legislation says.
You see, if kids work more, then the bureaucrats can work less. The best part about employing minors is that they are less likely to know their rights and you can usually pay them considerably less than an adult who knows they’re being exploited! As the Indianapolis Star points out, one of the existing laws that might bum CEO Chip Perfect out would be the one not allowing kids to work past 10 PM at night without parental permission. Chip’s company, Perfect North, just happens to be open until midnight.
The Indiana Department of Labor collected almost $1.5 million in penalties last year connected to violations of minors in the workplace.
*Real name. Really.