Sign the thank you card to Governor Tony Evers for vetoing Senate Bill 436 to protect children and stop the rollback of child labor law in Wisconsin.
Click here to say thank you to Governor Evers for using his veto pen to protect a parent’s right to sign off on their child’s work permits, ensure that our child labor enforcement system will continue to protect young teens at work, and stop the roll back of child labor laws in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin’s child labor permit process:
- Gives parents the necessary information about the work that their 14- and 15-year-old child may undertake as well as the right to set necessary priorities for and ensure the safety of their children.
- Provides the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) enforcement office with critical information such as how many 14- and 15-year-olds are working, where they are working, what job tasks they are performing, and the hours of work. All of this data is essential to ensuring that DWD’s limited child labor enforcement funds are targeted to where kids are actually working.
- Through a small $10 fee per permit, reimbursed by the employer, the permit process gives the DWD the funding for child labor enforcement.
Wisconsin developed a child labor permit system to ensure that employers could not take advantage of children. Wisconsin’s child work permit process has evolved over the years; gone are the days of a piece paper shuttled between school, home, and to the job. Now, parents and guardians create an account on the State Department of Workforce Development website and enter in the details of the job – such as days, hours, the type of work expected, as well as their child’s school – and then approve the employment digitally.
This latest attempt at rolling back child labor protections in Wisconsin comes at a time when child labor violations are on the rise across the country and more kids are working in Wisconsin.
At least 29 states have introduced or passed bills to weaken child labor protections since 2021. Since 2011, Wisconsin Republican politicians have attempted and sometimes succeeded in weakening or rolling back our child labor laws. In 2017, former Governor Scott Walker and the Republican-led Legislature abolished the right of parents to sign off on work for their 16- and 17-year-old children. Last session, Republican legislators attempted to pass a bill to expand the work hours kids could work into the night. Fortunately, Governor Tony Evers vetoed that bill (SB 332) in 2022 and it did not become law.
Time and time again, Governor Tony Evers has used his veto pen to stop the rollback of child labor law in Wisconsin.
In this 2023-24 legislative session, State Sen. Cory Tomczyk (R-Mosinee) and Rep. Clint Moses (R- Menomonie) introduced Senate Bill 436 to abolish child labor work permits for 14- and 15-year-old children and completely eliminated a parent’s right to sign off on work for their child. Less than one month after the bill was introduced, the Republican-led State Senate overwhelming passed the bill, with all Democrats voting in opposition. The bill then passed the Assembly on February 13, 2024, with all Republicans voting for passage and Democrats voting to oppose the bill.
Governor Tony Evers formally issued his veto of Senate Bill 436 at the Wisconsin State Council of Machinists (IAM) District 10 2024 Spring Conference in Madison.
Sign our thank you card. Together, let’s thank Governor Tony Evers for vetoing SB 436 to stop the roll back of child labor law. By vetoing SB 436, Governor Evers preserved the rights of parents to sign off on their 14- and 15-year-old child’s work permit, ensured that DWD has a strong child labor enforcement system, and protected all of Wisconsin’s children.