Committee hears bill to fix state child-labor protections at 2026 federal floor

The House Labor and Workforce Development Committee held a public hearing Feb. 2 on House Bill 4,013, a committee bill intended to preserve the floor of Oregon's child labor protections at the federal standards in effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

Erin, committee staff, summarized the measure: "The measure establishes that the total hours a minor may work may not be less than the requirements of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act that are in effect of 01/01/2026," and it permits BOLI to adopt rules to conform to federal changes that increase protections. No fiscal or revenue impact was reported at the hearing.

Representative Dacia Graber said the bill would "freeze the floor" so that if federal law were weakened, Oregon's statutory baseline for minors would remain at the 01/01/2026 level. Graber and other members emphasized that the bill does not expand protections beyond current law; it preserves existing state protections against potential federal rollbacks.

Committee members pressed for specific examples of proposed or pending federal rule changes that might trigger the bill. BOLI staff said they did not have concrete examples ready and offered to provide research to the committee. Representatives noted they would pursue follow-up information and suggested a work group during the interim to address reasoning around reasonable accommodations and specifics of child-labor thresholds.

The public hearing was closed with no vote; the bill will be considered further and was noted for a subsequent referral to Joint Ways and Means.