SB50 changes Ohio's child-labor rules by altering age and schooling certificate requirements and extending allowable work hours for minors under 16—particularly allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to work until 9 p.m. during the school year with parental consent rather than being limited to earlier hours.

The Ohio State House of Representatives passed SB50 on November 5, 2025 by a vote of 62 to 30. We have assigned pluses to the ayes because this bill restores reasonable flexibility for families by allowing parents—not government regulators—to determine whether their 14- or 15-year-old children may work extended evening hours. When employment is voluntary, the state should not impose unnecessary restrictions that interfere with a young person's opportunity to gain experience, develop responsibility, and earn income. Parents have the primary authority over the upbringing and supervision of their children, and that authority is protected by longstanding constitutional principles of due process and freedom of association, which are retained under the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.