Council hearing hears plan to modernize youth work permits; DOES seeks flexibility on audits

The committee also reviewed Bill 26‑428, the Youth Work Permit and Employment Protection Act of 2025. Dr. Nique Morris Hughes, director of the Department of Employment Services (DOES), said the District’s child‑labor law has not been substantively updated since 1976 and that consolidating youth work permits at DOES would make the system more consistent and enforceable.

Hughes said the proposed change would cover roughly 22,000 eligible District youth and create an online system for submitting, tracking and storing permits. The bill would also rewrite the statute in plain language, expand inspection authority, and clarify the Attorney General’s civil suit authority to pursue employers who violate the law. ‘‘Bill 26‑428 addresses these issues by consolidating responsibility for youth work permits under the Department of Employment Services,’’ Hughes said, adding that modernization would ‘‘streamline the process for approx. 22,000 eligible district youth.’’

DOES requested adjustments to the bill’s audit mandate. The current draft requires annual audits of all work and special occupation permits; Hughes told the committee that auditing up to 22,000 permits every year would exceed current staffing and system capacity and recommended targeted, risk‑based auditing or extending the audit cycle to every two to three years.

Committee members focused on processing timelines and technical systems, and Hughes said a new electronic permitting system could enable 1–2 week turnaround if applicants and employers supply complete documentation. Chair Bonds asked whether the two‑week pre‑start application window in the draft would allow permits to be issued in time; Hughes said a one‑ to two‑week processing time is reasonable with an electronic system.