BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – The Louisiana Senate has approved a bill that would take away required meal breaks for child workers.
HB156 would remove the state’s requirement for minors to take a 30-minute meal break if they work at least five hours. Under current state law, anyone under 18 has to be given a 30-minute break.
It passed with a vote of 61-37 in the House of Representatives on April 24. The Senate approved the bill with 26 yeas and 11 nays on Tuesday, May 21.
An amendment was added to make it only apply to 16 and 17-year-olds. Anyone younger would still be required to get a break.
State Rep. Roger Wilder, R-Denham Springs, pre-filed the bill for the 2024 Regular Session. Wilder, who owns some Smoothie King franchises, said the breaks cause issues for businesses.
The bill will head back to the House for a concurrence vote.
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