Labor & Employment (Child Labor)

This bill allows high school students in grades 11 and 12 to earn elective credits toward graduation by working at long-term care, nursing home, home care, or child care facilities. Students can earn one credit for every 250 hours worked, with a maximum of two credits allowed. Schools must create application forms to verify work hours and may set specific conditions on the types of tasks students perform. The program applies to both public and private schools and takes effect on July 1, 2025.

SB 338 authorizes a "benefits administrator" to receive workers' compensation payments on behalf of minor children or individuals deemed incompetent. This expands the list of parties who can receive such payments, which previously included parents, guardians, or conservators. The bill grants the workers' compensation judge the authority to appoint and terminate these benefits administrators. Parties can petition the judge for this appointment without needing to satisfy other dispute resolution requirements first.

Bill LC 1580, titled "Expand child labor laws to include digital labor practices," proposed to update existing child labor regulations to cover digital work performed by minors, such as creating social media content, participating in online gigs, or engaging in digital content creation. The bill would have required businesses and platforms employing minors in digital work to comply with age restrictions and hour limits similar to traditional child labor laws. However, the bill died in the legislative process on May 26, 2025, and did not become law, so no policy changes were implemented.