DES MOINES, Iowa — In a letter to the U.S. Department of Labor, Gov. Kim Reynolds has requested reconsideration and renegotiation of fines against small businesses in Iowa that face closure.
According to Reynolds' letter, small businesses face up to $180,000 in fines.
The fines came because federal law and Iowa state law are different.
Federal law says 14-and 15-year-olds can only work until 7 p.m. on school days and 9 p.m. on June 1st through Labor Day.
State law says 14-and 15-year-olds can work until 9 p.m. on school days and 11 p.m. on June 1st through Labor Day.
The Iowa Federation of Labor claims this discrepancy is leading to the fines and the Department of Labor is 'simply doing its job.'
"You're creating two separate sets of laws here, and you're putting business owners in a really bad spot," President of Iowa Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, Charlie Wishman said.
In Reynolds' letter, the Sugapeach Chicken & Fish Fry in North Liberty, Iowa is one of the businesses faced with fines.
The business partners with a community program to help mentor area youth and offer them real-life working skills, on top of getting a paycheck.
However, Sugapeach Chicken & Fish Fry faces a potential closure because of the fines.
The biggest concern stems from kids working too much during school. Reynolds argued it is not uncommon for students to participate in extracurricular activities past the 7 p.m. hour.
Those opposed said these hours lead to a negative impact on teenagers' education.
"We start having negative consequences and things happen to kids, if their working too much," Wishman said.
Local 5 reached out to the U.S. Department of Labor for a statement following the letter, and it said, "we investigate every actionable child labor complaint, tip, or referral that we receive...the Wage and Hour Division is committed to using all its enforcement tools."
In response to the differences in federal and state law, Reynolds said, “We are aware of the differences between federal and Iowa’s state labor laws, and that federal law places greater restrictions on young teens’ ability to work. Iowa’s maximum allowable daily and weekly work hours for young teens have been above the federal maximum since 1970 without any enforcement issues."