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Let Our Youth Thrive: Remove Unnecessary Work Permit Requirements

THE PROBLEM: OBSTACLES TO EMPLOYMENT

  • To legally get a job in 34 states, teenagers must obtain a work permit from a government officer tasked with reviewing the teenagers’ occupations, work hours, and future employer information.
  • Depending on state policy, bureaucrats can also require a physical examination from a doctor!
  • Plus, bureaucrats can unilaterally determine whether or not a job is in the child’s best interest.

PARENTS VS. EDUCATORS & REGULATORS

Right now, when a state requires bureaucratic approval before a teenager can work, schools and agencies can override parents.

Millions of teenagers want to join the workforce, and if their parents approve, then the government should not have the ability to undermine their decision. States should be allowing teenagers to decide, with their parents, to get a job—not the government.

THE SOLUTION: ELIMINATE YOUTH WORK PERMITS

State lawmakers can have an immediate impact on their local communities and economies by eliminating work permit requirements for teenagers.

SOME STRINGENT STATES

In Michigan, teenagers must obtain work permits if they’re homeschooled, each time they switch jobs, and even during the summer and for unpaid volunteer work.

Ohio is one of the states that requires a physician’s certificate indicating a teenager is “physically fit to be employed.”

Pennsylvania requires kids who have already graduated high school to obtain a work permit.

BOTTOM LINE: States should eliminate work permit requirements, leaving the decision-making to parents and eliminating unnecessary hurdles to teenage work.

At FGA, we don’t just talk about changing policy—we make it happen.

By partnering with FGA through a gift, you can create more policy change that returns America to a country where entrepreneurship thrives, personal responsibility is rewarded, and paychecks replace welfare checks.