Some restaurant owners are facing fines ranging from $50,000 to $180,000 for following state rather than federal regulations regarding how late 14- and 15-year-olds can work, Iowa Restaurant Association President and CEO Jessica Dunker says.
“They (the U.S. Department of Labor) have been selective and punitive in Iowa, and there is not anything I see that would make me think otherwise,” Dunker told the Des Moines Register this week. She declined to name specific restaurants that had been fined.
At issue is a 2023 Iowa lawthat loosened state rules for child labor. It is at odds with federal regulations in a number of areas, including a provision allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to work as late as 9 p.m. on school nights and as late as 11 p.m. during the summer.
Federal law specifies younger teens can work only until 7 p.m. during the school year and until 9 p.m. during the summer.
As reported June 12 by the Register, the difference between the state and federal requirements has spawned costly violations for some Iowa restaurants. One Subway owner in Maquoketa who employed 14- and 15-year-olds said she dreads going to her mailbox as she awaits notification of the fines she may face after a federal Department of Labor inspection in February.
Labor Department officials had warned lawmakers and the governorduring the 2023 legislative session, when the law was passed, that states could not have less-restrictive child labor laws than those on the federal books and that “the Department will continue to vigorously enforce child labor protections across the nation.”
In a statement issued to the Register on Monday, the Department of Labor ― which previously confirmed it is conducting enforcement action in Iowa, though denied it is singling out the state ― wrote: “It’s dangerous and irresponsible that amidst a rise in child labor exploitation in this country, Iowa’s governor and state legislature have chosen to repeatedly undermine federal child labor protections despite the Labor Department’s clear guidance. No child should be working long hours, doing dangerous work, or be employed in unsafe conditions.
"The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is working every day to ensure that children seeking their first work experiences are doing so in a safe and responsible way," the statement added. "But under our watch, that will not include allowing children to be exploited.”
The statement also noted that the department is “committed to using all its enforcement tools, including assessing civil monetary penalties, to penalize and deter violations of the law, which helps ensure that when children work, the work does not jeopardize their health, well-being, or educational opportunities. When monetary penalties are assessed, the amount depends on the nature of the violations and the underlying factual circ*mstances.”
More: Businesses are caught in the middle of conflicting child labor laws. How do they vary?
'Enforcement has been on steroids in Iowa,' says Wisconsin restaurant group CEO
Nathan Sanderson, executive director of the South Dakota Retailers Association, said his state, which long has had laws on teen work hours that are looser than the federal rules, has not faced the same enforcement scrutiny that Iowa has.
South Dakota has allowed 14- and 15-year-olds to work until 10 p.m. during the school year since 1994, Sanderson said, but “I’m not aware of DOL charging anyone here.”
He said he thinks there may be two reasons why Iowa is experiencing enhanced enforcement: the more recent change in Iowa's law and the timing of the enforcement coming just before a presidential election.
“There were a whole host of federal rules from the Obama administration that got rolled back when Trump got elected, and then some of the rules of the Trump administration got rolled back when Biden was elected,” Sanderson said.
In Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, this year vetoed a Republican move to do away with required work permits for 14- and 15-year-olds. Last year, lawmakers there also considered introducing a bill that, as in Iowa, would have extended working hours for teens. Kristine Hillmer, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association, said her group would like to see the hours change, but stayed neutral on the issue, which failed to move forward,
“We were concerned that not being in sync (with the federal law) would make us a target for enforcement. Having a state law different from federal creates confusion and can result in unintended consequences,” Hillmer said.
She said her organization has made its members aware of what is happening in Iowa.
“The DOL enforces in every state, but my understanding is that enforcement has been on steroids in Iowa,” she said.
Hillmer said it is unfortunate that often it is the smaller establishments in smaller communities that get hurt the most by large fines because larger groups of restaurants in metro areas have more legal clout to avoid them or negotiate less-stringent penalties.
A large fine that could result in closing a restaurant "harms independent mom and pop owners. They take out the business,” she said.
A restaurant closing in a smaller community has a ripple effect hurting not only the owners, but employees and the town, she said.
“Restaurants are the heartbeat of communities. It’s the place where people go to celebrate and to mourn,” she said.
Should federal work rules for teens loosen up?
Hillmer, like others, hope that federal regulations on the hours young people can work will be revisited.
“It’s hard for me to understand why a 15-year-old can participate in sports, even work in the concession stand, until 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. but a kid who wants to work, earn money and gain skills can’t work past 7 p.m.,” she said.
The current federal regulations for hours that 14- and 15-year-olds can work went on the books in 1938, and both Hillmer and Dunker say it is time to revisit them.
“We live in a different world where my fifth grader can be playing organized basketball at 8 p.m. but a freshman or sophom*ore making a sandwich at 6:30 p.m. can’t be doing it at 7:30 p.m.,” Dunker said.
Half of all respondents in a Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll taken in March 2023 supported relaxing child labor laws, with 42% opposed and 8% unsure. The same poll showed that a majority of Iowa parents with children under 18 ― 57% ―favored the legislation, with 32% opposing and 11% not sure.
Dunker said the Labor Department “absolutely has a role” in protecting children from egregious and dangerous situations in the workplace.
“But we should not be potentially putting people out of business for situations that did not place kids in danger,” she said.
For now, she said, she hopes to work with state leaders as well as the Iowa congressional delegation to try to get fines reduced.
Gov. Kim Reynolds had scheduled a news conference on Monday with a North Liberty restaurant owner to address the issue but canceled the event after devastating floods in northwest Iowa, where she spent the day visiting affected towns.
“At the end of the day that’s my goal, to try and help get the fines reduced and do everything I can to keep these restaurants in business,” Dunker said.
Kevin Baskins covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at kbaskins@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Some Iowa restaurateurs reportedly hit with 6-figure child labor fines
