Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Arkansas General Assembly, fetched 2026-07-23. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
1 State of Arkansas A Bill
2 95th General Assembly
3 Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1996
4
5 By: Representative Gramlich
6
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8 For An Act To Be Entitled
9 AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING LABOR; TO AMEND
10 THE CHILD LABOR LAWS ENACTED BY INITIATED ACT 1 OF
11 1914; TO ESTABLISH AN EDUCATIONAL ALTERNATIVE TO
12 CIVIL PENALTIES FOR CERTAIN VIOLATIONS RELATED TO
13 CHILD LABOR; TO CREATE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS RELATED
14 TO CHILD LABOR REQUIREMENTS; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
15
16
17 Subtitle
18 TO AMEND THE CHILD LABOR LAWS ENACTED BY
19 INITIATED ACT 1 OF 1914; TO ESTABLISH AN
20 EDUCATIONAL ALTERNATIVE TO CIVIL
21 PENALTIES FOR CERTAIN VIOLATIONS; AND TO
22 CREATE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS RELATED TO
23 CHILD LABOR.
24
25 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
26
27 SECTION 1. DO NOT CODIFY. Legislative findings.
28 The General Assembly finds that:
29 (1) Part-time work by teenagers teaches important lessons in
30 personal finance, time management, and confidence and allows for important
31 networking and career exploration opportunities;
32 (2) However, the state has a responsibility to protect children
33 from hazardous work environments and ensure that employment opportunities do
34 not come at the expense of a teenager's education;
35 (3) The Department of Labor and Licensing identified that, from
36 2020 to 2023, child labor violations increased by two hundred sixty-six
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1 percent (266%) and financial penalties for child labor violations increased
2 by six hundred percent (600%) for the same time;
3 (4) When compared to surrounding states, Arkansas has some of
4 the highest numbers of child labor cases investigated and child labor
5 violations, as well as financial penalties assigned, according to data from
6 the United States Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division; and
7 (5) It is crucial for teenagers who are employed, as well as
8 employers and parents, to understand legal requirements and regulations as it
9 relates to allowable working hours and places of employment for children
10 under the age of sixteen (16).
11
12 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code � 11-6-103(a)(1), concerning the civil penalty
13 related to child labor violations as enacted by Initiated Act 1 of 1914, is
14 amended to read as follows:
15 (a)(1)(A) Any person, firm, corporation, partnership, association,
16 parent, guardian, or custodian who employs or permits or suffers any child to
17 be employed or to work in violation of this subchapter or �� 11-12-101 -- 11-
18 12-105, or any rules issued thereunder, shall be subject to a civil penalty
19 of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) and not more than five thousand
20 dollars ($5,000) for each violation.
21 (B) A civil penalty under subdivision (a)(1)(A) of this
22 section may be waived for a first-time violation if the person, firm,
23 corporation, partnership, association, parent, guardian, or custodian subject
24 to the civil penalty completes an educational module developed by the
25 Department of Labor and Licensing under � 11-6-117.
26
27 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code Title 11, Chapter 6, Subchapter 1, is amended
28 to add additional sections to read as follows:
29 11-6-117. Educational module related to child labor.
30 (a) The Department of Labor and Licensing shall develop an educational
31 module that shall be provided to a person, a firm, a corporation, a
32 partnership, an association, a parent, a guardian, or a custodian subject to
33 a first-time civil penalty under �11-6-103(a)(1)(B).
34 (b) The educational module under subsection (a) of this section shall
35 include:
36 (1) The requirements and prohibitions of the Fair Labor
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1 Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. � 201, et seq., as it existed on January 1,
2 2025, specific to the employment of children under sixteen (16) years of age;
3 (2) Regulations under 29 C.F.R. Part 570, as it existed on
4 January 1, 2025, specific to the employment of children under sixteen (16)
5 years of age; and
6 (3) All state laws and rules governing the employment of
7 children under sixteen (16) years of age.
8
9 11-6-118. Posting of educational signage.
10 (a) Each public school, open-enrollment public charter school, and
11 private school shall post in a conspicuous place near the entrance of the
12 establishment, or where posters and notices of this type customarily are
13 posted, a poster developed by the Department of Labor and Licensing in
14 collaboration with the Department of Education.
15 (b) The poster shall:
16 (1) Measure at least eight and one-half inches by eleven inches
17 (8 1/2" and 11") in size;
18 (2) Be in a youth-friendly format and utilize age-appropriate
19 language;
20 (3) Include the requirements and prohibitions of the Fair Labor
21 Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. � 201, et seq., as it existed on January 1,
22 2025, specific to the employment of children under the age of sixteen (16);
23 (4) Include regulations under 29 C.F.R. Part 570, as it existed
24 on January 1, 2025, specific to the employment of children under the age of
25 sixteen (16); and
26 (5) Provide information on all state laws and rules governing
27 the employment of children under the age of sixteen (16).
28 (c) The information required in subsection (b) of this section shall
29 be printed in English, Spanish, and any other language mandated by the Voting
30 Rights Act of 1965, 52 U.S.C. � 10503, as it existed on January 1, 2025, in
31 the county where the school is located.
32 (d) The poster required under this section shall be available on the
33 websites of the following:
34 (1) The Department of Labor and Licensing; and
35 (2) The Department of Education.
36 (e) To obtain a copy of the poster required under this section, the
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1 administration of the public school, open-enrollment public charter school,
2 or private school shall:
3 (1) Print the poster from either of the websites listed under
4 subsection (c) of this section; or
5 (2) Request that the poster be mailed by the Department of Labor
6 and Licensing or the Department of Education for the cost of printing and
7 first-class postage.
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4 04/07/2025 7:13:40 AM CRH331Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.