Testimony — Ohio Restaurant & Hospitality Alliance, in Support of SCR 3 (October 8, 2025)

Summary

Testimony dated October 8, 2025 from the Ohio Restaurant & Hospitality Alliance in support of SCR 3, addressed to Chair Johnson, Vice Chair Lear, Ranking Member McNally and members of the House Commerce & Labor Committee. The testimony is made on behalf of Ohio's 24,821 restaurant, hospitality, and foodservice locations and the 564,000 employees who work in Ohio's hospitality businesses. It thanks Senator Schaffer for sponsoring the legislation and supports urging Congress to change the Fair Labor Standards Act so that 14 and 15 year olds can work later. It states that the current 7:00 pm limit prevents many willing teenagers from more opportunities and that 9:00 pm is a more reasonable limit, with parental consent required. The name block is Tod Bowen.

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        Ohio Restaurant & Hospitality Alliance Testimony in Support of SCR 3
October 8, 2025,
Chair Johnson, Vice Chair Lear, Ranking Member McNally and Members of the House Commerce &
Labor Committee:
On behalf of Ohio’s 24,821 restaurant, hospitality, and foodservice locations and the 564,000
employees who work in Ohio’s hospitality businesses, the Ohio Restaurant & Hospitality Alliance
appreciates the opportunity to support SCR 3 and thanks Senator Schaffer for his sponsoring of this
timely legislation.
The skills and fundamentals that young people learn in the workforce are invaluable and will serve
them well for the rest of their career. Young people learn academics through school and have access to
an endless repository of information right in their pockets. But the things they learn while working are
not something you can easily learn in a class or online. Being employed, especially in sectors like
foodservice, retail and hospitality, offers these young people the opportunity to learn essential skills
like customer service, problem solving, and time management.
Urging Congress to make changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act to allow 14 and 15 year olds to have
the opportunity to build skills for their careers is important and timely. Unfortunately, the current 7:00
pm limit on 14 and 15 year olds prevents many willing teenagers from having more opportunities to
grow. While limiting how late younger workers can work is appropriate, we believe that 9:00 pm is a
more reasonable limit. The later time opens more opportunities for personal growth and skill building.
We appreciate and support the fact that this request clearly states that parental consent would be
required for those young people who want these opportunities. This choice should clearly belong to
the family, which is clear in the request’s language.
Ohio’s restaurants value all who work in hospitality in our state and look forward to this legislation
providing younger Ohioans the opportunity to learn, grow and earn.
Thank you again for the opportunity to support this important legislation and for the work you all do
to ensure that Ohio’s hospitality businesses continue to provide robust employment and career
opportunities and contribute to the thriving, vibrant communities they serve.
Tod Bowen
Managing Director of External Affairs & Government Relations
Ohio Restaurant & Hospitality Alliance


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