HB61 • 2026

EMPLOYMENT OF MINORS

An Act relating to employment; relating to voluntary flexible work hour plans; relating to the employment of minors; and relating to hours worked by minors employed in the state.

Children Education Labor

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: HOUSE RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
Last action: 2025-02-06
Official status: (H) STA
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date of this law is unknown based on the provided text; only legislative passage dates are listed.

Alaska Bill HB61: Updates on Work Rules for Minors and Flexible Hours

This bill updates rules so that minors under 17 no longer need a state work permit, allows family members to hire relatives without one in their own business, increases daily hour limits for students under 16, and adjusts overtime thresholds for flexible work plans.

What This Bill Does

Updates the rule for voluntary flexible work hour plans so that employees can work up to 40 hours a week and 12 hours a day without triggering overtime pay if they have an approved written agreement filed with the department.
Changes the age requirement so that minors under 16 years old, instead of under 17, must be employed by someone who has received general written authorization from the commissioner.
Allows family members to hire a minor without getting state permission if the work is done in a business or on a boat owned and operated by that family member.
Increases the daily combined limit for school attendance and employment for minors under 16 years old from nine hours to ten hours.
Removes older sections of law that provided specific exceptions for certain types of minor employment.

Who It Names or Affects

Minors in Alaska who are younger than 17 years old
Employers hiring minors under the age of 16 or those using flexible work plans
Family members, including parents, grandparents, adult siblings, aunts, and uncles, who own businesses or boats and hire relatives
Employees working under voluntary flexible work hour plans

Terms To Know

Voluntary Flexible Work Hour Plan: A written agreement between an employer and employee that sets daily and weekly hours, which must be filed with the department to receive a certificate of approval.
General Written Authorization: Official permission from the commissioner required for employers who want to hire minors under 16 years old.

Limits and Unknowns

The official text does not state a specific date when these new rules will officially begin.
The bill mentions that some employment is exempt by regulations adopted by the department, but it does not list those specific exemptions here.

Bill History

2025-02-06 Min
(H) Minutes (HSTA)
2025-02-06 Text
(H) Heard & Held
2025-02-06 Text
(H) STATE AFFAIRS at 03:15 PM GRUENBERG 120
2025-01-22 52
(H) REFERRED TO STATE AFFAIRS
2025-01-22 52
(H) GOVERNOR'S TRANSMITTAL LETTER
2025-01-22 52
(H) FN1: ZERO(LWF)
2025-01-22 52
(H) STA, L&C
2025-01-22 52
(H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS

Official Summary Text

EMPLOYMENT OF MINORS
An Act relating to employment; relating to voluntary flexible work hour plans; relating to the employment of minors; and relating to hours worked by minors employed in the state.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB0061a -1- HB 61
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

34-GH1389\A

HOUSE BILL NO. 61

IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA

THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION

BY THE HOUSE RULES COMMITTEE BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR

Introduced: 1/22/25
Referred: State Affairs, Labor and Commerce

A BILL

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED

"An Act relating to employment; relating to voluntary flexible work hour plans; relating 1
to the employment of minors; and relating to hours worked by mi nors employed in the 2
state." 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 4
* Section 1. AS 23.10.060(d)(14) is amended to read: 5
(14) work performed by an employee under a voluntary flexible work 6
hour plan that does not exceed 40 hours a week and 12 hours a day if 7
(A) the employee and the employer have signed a written 8
agreement establishing the daily and weekly hours worked by the employee 9
under the plan and the written agreement has been filed with the department; 10
and 11
(B) the department has issued a certificate approving the plan 12
[THAT STATES THE WORK IS FOR 40 HOURS A WEEK AND NOT 13
MORE THAN 10 HOURS A DAY]; for work exceeding [OVER 40 HOURS 14
34-GH1389\A
HB 61 -2- HB0061a
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

A WEEK OR 10 HOURS A DAY UNDER] a flexible work hour plan not 1
included as part of a collective bargaining agreement, compensa tion at the rate 2
of one and one-half times the regular rate of pay shall be paid for the overtime; 3
* Sec. 2. AS 23.10.332(a) is amended to read: 4
(a) Except for employment exempted under AS 23.10.330 and (e) of this 5
section and other employment specificall y exempted by regulations adop ted by the 6
department, a minor under 16 [17] years of age may only [NOT] be employed by or 7
allowed to work for an employer who has received a general written authorization 8
to employ minors from [WITHOUT THE WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION OF] the 9
commissioner unless authorized under AS 23.10.360 [OR UNDER (c) O F T H I S 10
SECTION]. 11
* Sec. 3. AS 23.10.332 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 12
(e) An employer is not require d to obtain written authorizatio n under (a) of 13
this section to employ a minor under the direct supervision of a family member of the 14
minor in a business owned and operated by the family member or on a boat owned and 15
operated by the famil y member. In this subsection, "family memb er" means a parent, 16
grandparent, adult sibling, aunt, or uncle. 17
* Sec. 4. AS 23.10.340(a) is amended to read: 18
(a) A minor under 16 years of age may not be employed for more t h a n a 19
combined total of 10 [NINE] hours school attendance and employment in one day. If 20
employed, the minor's work may be performed only between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. 21
Domestic work and baby sitting excepted, employment [EMPLOYMENT 22
OUTSIDE SCHOOL HOURS] may not exceed 23 hours in one week when school is 23
in session or 40 hours in one week when school is not in sessio n [, DOMESTIC 24
WORK AND BABY-SITTING EXCEPTED]. 25
* Sec. 5. AS 23.10.332(c) and 23.10.332(d) are repealed. 26
* Sec. 6. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 27
read: 28
REVISOR'S INSTRUCTION. The revisor of statutes is requested to change the catch 29
line for AS 23.10.332 from "Authorization for children under 17 to work" to "Authorization 30
to employ children under 16." 31