State Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, is hopeful the Senate will pass a bill that would expand eligibility requirements for minors seeking employment after school.

Currently, 14- and 15-year-olds must get permission from their school before they can start working. DuBose's bill would eliminate that requirement.

The bill passed the House this week and is expected to be debated in the Senate.

State lawmakers discussed the bill on WVNN's “Yaffee Program” on Wednesday.

“Of course, in Alabama, minors over 14 can already work, but 14- and 15-year-olds have to get a letter of permission or a work permit from their school administrators. I think this is going too far,” DuBose said. “I don't think the government should be regulating what kids do after school. That should be up to the parents and the students. At that age you can only work three hours a day and you can't work after 7 p.m. That's in federal and state law. So there are so many protections in place.”

DuBose said teens can gain needed skills by finding work at that age.

“I think what you learn by working after school from 4 to 7 p.m. is very valuable,” she argued, “and you learn social skills, discipline, work ethic, how to make money, how to manage money. If students and parents feel they have the time to do that, I think they should be allowed to do it without a permit. A permit often makes you feel like you shouldn't really be doing this, that you need special permission, and I don't think it should be a barrier to employment.”

DuBose also explained that the bill does not remove all restrictions on hiring minors.

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“So the bill passed the Legislature. We had bipartisan support,” she said. “And I think people understood that we still have protections in place. Students who are 14 or 15 years old, and even students and teenagers up to 18 years old, cannot work in an unsafe or harmful environment. There are 17 different types of environments in which they cannot work. So they're in a safe and supervised environment. And I think this is a great learning and educational opportunity for students.”

The lawmaker said he understands some of the backlash he's received about the bill, but believes those concerns don't apply to this particular piece of legislation.

“I understand the concern,” she said, “because it says it's a child labor bill, and that automatically raises alarms. In Alabama, we've had people break the law by putting 12-year-olds to work in dangerous environments. So I completely understand people's concern. They're not in dangerous environments. But Alabama has the lowest unemployment rate and lowest labor force participation rate in the country for 16- to 24-year-olds. So this is just giving them an opportunity, within the limited scope of the state, to learn about the job and learn a work ethic.”

Yaffe is a contributing writer for Yellow Hammer News and hosts “The Yaffe Program” weekdays from 9-11 a.m. WhistlerYou can follow us on Twitter @Yaffe