HB 57-CHILD LABOR HOURS  3:35:17 PM CHAIR LEDOUX announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 57, "An Act relating to expanding the period in a day during which an employed child under 16 years of age may perform work in the summer; and providing for an effective date." 3:36:02 PM REPRESENTATIVE STUTES moved to adopt the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 57 labeled 31-LS0271\S, Wayne, 3/27/19, as the working draft. There being no objection, Version S was before the committee. 3:36:40 PM REPRESENTATIVE TAMMIE WILSON, Alaska State Legislature, introduced HB 57, as prime sponsor, and paraphrased parts of the sponsor statement [included in the committee packet], which read in its entirety as follows [original punctuation provided]: In Fairbanks, where the sun never sets in the summer, you can go by the soccer fields watching all ages enjoy the sport. Fairbanks Youth Soccer Association adjusted their entire program structure to ensure that games would be finished by 9:00 pm and thus no young employees, a 14 or 15-year-old, would be scheduled beyond that point. However, after continued growth, it has become nearly impossible to complete all the league games that are played in one central location. House Bill 57 would extend the time of day from 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm as well as adds an additional hour earlier in the day, from 5:00 am to 4:00 am, that youth 14 or 15 years of age can perform work, from June 1st until the first Monday in September, if they are not enrolled in a school term. This expansion of time does not alter the number of hours in a day or week the youth can work, it simply allows them to work until 10:00 pm and start earlier than 5:00 am during the summer. This bill would only go into effect once the commissioner of labor and workforce development has obtained a waiver from compliance with the requirement under 29 C.F.R. 570.35(a) from the United States Secretary of Labor. This bill would not only benefit the referees but allow more children to participate not just in soccer but many other sports. I ask for your support of HB 57. 3:41:01 PM REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN asked if references to federal exemptions were deleted because the current version of the bill deals with state child labor restrictions. REPRESENTATIVE WILSON affirmed that. REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN asked if the Department of Labor & Workforce Development (DLWD) is concerned with the lack of distinction between labor categories. 3:43:15 PM GREY MITCHELL, Division of Workers' Compensation, Department of Labor & Workforce Development, stated that there are no concerns from the department. He added that employers are expected to understand that there are differences between state and federal law. REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN established a scenario in which two kids work at a soccer field, a 14-year-old referee and a 15-year-old working the concession stand. She asked if it would be illegal for the concession stand worker to work until 10 p.m. because it's a commerce-related position. MR. MITCHELL said it's a complicated question and the answer depends on what they are selling. He offered his understanding that if he or she is selling locally grown products with cash transactions there would be no problem, whereas if the products had traveled by interstate commerce with credit card transactions "then they would be covered." REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN expressed concern that the current bill over-complicates the issue by allowing some kids to work until 10 p.m. and not others. She noted that the exemption being sought is for a narrow category of employers. She asked if Alaska would be violating federal law if the state extended the 10 p.m. limit to all youth work permits in the summer. MR. MITCHELL replied that the state wouldn't necessarily be in violation of federal law because states can vary their requirements from the Fair Labor Act; however, the employer of the minor could be in violation, which would put them in peril with federal enforcement agents. REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN said she is concerned about small businesses with a variety of 15-year-old employees in both commerce and unrelated positions. She asked how it would be possible to allow all of them to work until 10 p.m. MR. MITCHELL stated that changing the federal law would be the only way to do that. 3:47:45 PM CO-CHAIR LEDOUX asked how active the federal regulators are on soccer fields. MR. MITCHELL offered that it's not a high priority for them. He offered his understanding that they are more complaint oriented and focused on hazardous occupations. 3:48:32 PM CHAIR LEDOUX announced that HB 57 was held over.