Seeking balance, bill looks for teens to call it an earlier work night

They can vote and buy tobacco. But, if HF701 becomes law, 18-year-old students won’t be allowed to work past 11 p.m. on school nights.

Rep. Mary Murphy

Current law prohibits students age 17 and younger from working past 11 p.m. on school nights, but a proposal by Rep. Mary Murphy (DFL-Hermantown) would change the current threshold of student workers to “18 or older.” It also would bar students from working before 5 a.m.

The bill, Murphy said, is “fixing a glitch.”

The House Commerce and Regulatory Reform Committee approved the bill Wednesday and sent it to the House Job Growth and Energy Affordability Policy and Finance Committee. Its companion, SF226, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook), awaits action by the Senate Jobs and Economic Growth Finance and Policy Committee.

Rebecca Brenna, a mother of an 18-year-old, said her son landed a job just before the holiday rush. The department store scheduled her son to work until 12:30 a.m., which she said was “difficult” to balance for the teen waking up at 6 a.m. for an eight-hour school day.

“He did have to do that for four or five times a week,” Brenna said.

The bill would not change current law, whereby students with a note from their parents or guardians can work until 11:30 p.m. on a night before a school day and after 4:30 a.m. on a school day.