LANSING — A new law will tighten work restrictions for 14 year olds to 17-year-olds and transition the work permit process to a centralized, online state system.

The legislation, proposed by Democratic Reps. Phil Skaggs of East Grand Rapids, Veronica Paiz of Harper Woods and Helena Scott of Detroit will limit 14- and 15-year-olds to working between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. during the school week, with a maximum of three hours per day and 18 hours per week.

Currently, Michigan child labor laws limit them to working between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m during the school week, with a maximum of three hours per day and 18 hours per week while school is in session.

The new restriction on working hours is intended to better support and protect minors’ education, according to Skaggs, and will take effect on March 31.

In addition, the new law will shift oversight of all youth work permits to the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.

Beginning Oct. 1, the department will issue and manage work permits through a centralized online system.

“With the current system, chances are rare that employers will get caught for violating child labor laws,” Skaggs said, referring to a 2023 New York Times investigation that exposed several employers, including a factory in Grand Rapids, for exploiting migrant children.

“The only real enforcement happens when something horrible happens to a child on the job, or if there is a whistleblower,” Skaggs said.

Skaggs said that in one instance, a child working in a venison processing plant in Ionia lost his hand in a meat grinder, and fines for the employer were only around $1,400.

Randall Harrison, the assistant deputy director of Labor and Economic Opportunity, said the legislation will both better protect minors’ education and well-being, while also taking preventive measures to ensure employers are following youth employment standards.

Currently, obtaining a work permit requires an employer to complete a physical or online form outlining a teen’s specific work hours and job requirements. The form is then given to a parent or guardian to provide student information before being submitted to the school district’s issuing officer.

With the new online system, minors and their employers will log into a centralized database, where required work permit forms will be stored and managed by the department and made accessible to employers, minors and school districts.

“The legislation will allow us to oversee the protection of minors rather than school systems, which should be focusing on educating,” Harrison said. “It will allow us to ensure that employers stay in compliance rather than having difficult conversations after violations occur.”

Harrison also said there has been significant pushback from some community members who argue that the government should not be involved in the process of obtaining and managing work permits.

“People think new processes and government involvement will add more bureaucracy, but I argue it actually reduces it because there is less back-and-forth between employers and schools,” Harrison said.

Michigan will join New Jersey, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Georgia as states that use state-managed online work permit systems.