HB 57-CHILD LABOR HOURS  4:15:32 PM CO-CHAIR FIELDS 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." 4:15:51 PM REPRESENTATIVE TAMMIE WILSON, Alaska State Legislature, relayed that current law states that children ages 14 and 15 may work during the hours of 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the school day, but only for an hour a day, or 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. during the summer. She was approached by the soccer association who expressed that it was not possible to complete all the games due to there being only one field; they asked to be allowed to play until 10 p.m. She stated the proposed legislation would allow 14- and 15-year- olds to be able to work until 10 p.m., instead of 9 p.m. She maintained that HB 57 would not increase the number of hours per week or the number of hours per day that they would be allowed to work. She added that she discovered, through research, that a state is required to have a waiver from the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) to allow for such work hours. Alaska currently does not have a waiver and is violating federal law, since federal law specifies 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the school year and 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. otherwise. She maintained that her office is pursuing the waiver through U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan's office; the waiver is necessary regardless of the progress of HB 57. REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked for confirmation that the bill applies to all activities, not just sporting activities. REPRESENTATIVE WILSON answered that for 14- and 15-year-olds, that is correct. REPRESENTATIVE WOOL asked if there are any other groups or businesses that have requested the change in hours. REPRESENTATIVE WILSON replied, "Not to me, they have not." She mentioned that 14- and 15-year-olds are very limited in what they can do and the hours they can do it. She relayed that there are many activities exempted from the time restrictions such as babysitting and other tasks associated with sports, such as cleaning up the football field or doing laundry; however, the work [for the soccer association] is not exempted. REPRESENTATIVE VANCE referred to page 1, line 13, of HB 57 and asked for the definition of "domestic work." REPRESENTATIVE WILSON answered that she does not have a definition, but assumes it is laundry, housework, and such. She said she is not aware of a definition in statute. REPRESENTATIVE VANCE suggested that since doing laundry for soccer is exempt, yet other tasks are not, additional definition of terms may help avoid the problem of Alaska and the youth being outside of federal law. REPRESENTATIVE WILSON responded that the only law Alaska is breaking is the one regarding the work hours. She offered that youth workers doing laundry for a football team is probably not considered domestic work, since it is probably not their own laundry. 4:20:01 PM REPRESENTATIVE WOOL referred to the letter from the Fairbanks Youth Soccer Association (FYSA), included in the committee packet, in which the association relates that the season ends the first week of August and even a 9:30 p.m. extension would be helpful. He mentioned that HB 57 specifies September or otherwise being enrolled in school as the time of the work hour change. He suggested that since school starts the third week of August, the date should be changed in the proposed legislation. REPRESENTATIVE WILSON answered that the language (concerning the month) in the proposed legislation is consistent with the language in federal law. REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX noted that although federal law requires a state to seek an exemption for youth working in a soccer-related job, federal law exempts children working on fishing boats, which is one of the most dangerous professions in the world. REPRESENTATIVE WILSON added that also there is an exemption in the case of children working for their parents. She expressed her belief that the law has not been reviewed recently, and things have changed. She stated, "We are very good about making sure our children are safe, or the jobs ... are very age appropriate." She expressed her belief that there are other groups in the same position as FYSA that are not aware of the law and consequently may be breaking the law as well. REPRESENTATIVE WOOL asked for confirmation that Alaska is already breaking federal law, and Alaska getting a waiver will determine if the proposed legislation can advance. REPRESENTATIVE WILSON responded that for HB 57 to pass, a waiver from USDOL would be needed and incorporated into statute by Legislative Legal Services to ensure compliance [with federal law.] She relayed that USDOL is already working on this issue because, regardless of the passage of HB 57, Alaska wants to comply. CO-CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS acknowledged that HB 57 relates to 14- and 15-year-olds. He asked whether there are any restrictions in state or federal law on hours that 16- and 17-year-olds can work. REPRESENTATIVE WILSON answered that there is a difference between age 16 and age 17 in the type of work but not regarding the hour issue. CO-CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS asked for confirmation that 16- and 17- year-olds may be restricted in the type of work, but they may work a 11:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. shift if the work warranted it. REPRESENTATIVE WILSON replied, "That's my understanding." CO-CHAIR FIELDS stated that HB 57 would be held over.