Senate committee approves bill to remove state work‑permit requirement for 14–15 year olds amid heated debate

The Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee voted to pass House Bill 1410, which eliminates the state’s employment certificate requirement for 14– and 15‑year‑old workers.

Representative Rebecca Burks, who introduced the bill, described the current work‑permit as paperwork that creates a barrier to employment and argued the Division of Labor does not use the form for proactive enforcement; she said removing it would restore decision‑making power to parents and free agency resources for investigations. Steve Gunthorpe of the Department of Labor and Licensing testified that the department receives and stores the forms, verifies age, job type and hours when the application is submitted, and only opens investigations when complaints are filed.

Opponents included Laura Kellams of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, Joshua Price with Arkansas United, and Ben Washington of the Arkansas Public Policy Panel. Kellams said the certificate ensures parental involvement and creates a paper trail that employers must keep to show compliance with hour limits; she cited recent child‑labor enforcement actions in Batesville and Green Forest and federal reports of an increase in child‑labor violations. Price and Washington emphasized protections for vulnerable and immigrant youth and warned that removing the form could make exploitation harder to detect and prosecute.

Committee members debated tradeoffs between parental authority, administrative burden and enforcement. Some members suggested strengthening criminal penalties for bad actors rather than retaining the permitting requirement; others said the permit helps ensure employers follow hour and hazard rules. After discussion the committee called a roll call; the transcript records that the bill "passes with 5 votes" and notes at least one recorded 'no' vote (Senator Love).