Florida Aims to Fill Immigrant Jobs with Children

In a twist of events that is difficult to believe, Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, already infamous for his right-wing policies, is working with the state legislature to “fix” a problem that the state itself has created: a lack of workers available for low-wage jobs Americans don’t want. Florida has cracked down on employers that hire undocumented immigrants for years, but that has created a problem, a lack of a sufficient number of available workers, and so the state has what it believes is a solution – to let children do the work. A bill that would loosen child labor laws is being advanced in the legislature, which would allow children as young as 14 to work overnight shifts. Meanwhile, the US Dept. of Labor statistics says the number of child labor violations in Fla. has nearly tripled in recent years.

Read the full story by Jordan Valinsky for CNN, published here: https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/25/business/florida-child-labor-laws/index.html