BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1855

By: Bowers

International Relations & Economic Development

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

There are concerns that children who work while attending school may not dedicate an adequate amount of time to their studies, which could impact their academic performance. C.S.H.B. 1855 seeks to address these concerns by changing the restrictions on hours of employment for children who are 14 or 15 years of age and by adding restrictions for children who are 16 years of age.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill expressly does one or more of the following: creates a criminal offense, increases the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or changes the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1855 amends the Labor Code to expand the conduct that constitutes the Class B misdemeanor offense of permitting a child who is 14 or 15 years of age and who is employed by a person to work beyond certain statutory limits by including in those limits working more than five days in one week. The bill extends the periods during which work is performed that determines whether a person commits such an offense based on whether the child is enrolled in a term of a public or private school and working on a day that is or is not followed by a school day or during the time that school is recessed for the summer.

C.S.H.B. 1855 creates a Class B misdemeanor offense for a person who permits a child who is 16 years of age and who is employed by the person to work more than 10 hours in one day, 54 hours in one week, or six days in one week. The bill creates a Class B misdemeanor offense for a person who permits a child who is 16 years of age, is employed by the person, and is enrolled in a term of a public or private school to work between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. on a day that is followed by a school day. 

C.S.H.B. 1855 establishes that provisions governing offenses relating to the restricted hours of employment of a child do not apply if the child is a member of the employing person's family or household and the person employs not more than 50 employees, including the child.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1855 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes provisions providing for a certain exemption from provisions governing offenses relating to the restricted hours of child employment.