INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Republican lawmakers are looking to combat the workforce shortage by raising how how many hours minors can work.

Republican Indiana District 16 State Representative Kendall Culp, who authored the bill, said Indiana’s child labor laws are stricter than what federal laws currently allow.

“In an era where we have workforce issues throughout this country, to really doesn’t make a lot of sense for us to tell our teenagers that it’s okay to work less,” Culp said.

Shawn Christ, secretary treasurer of the Indiana State AFL-CIO, said, ”You could have parents that in some cases, could basically make their kid quit after eighth grade and send them into the workforce with this signing off that they could work."

The Indiana State AFL-CIO said they're watching three child labor bills that could reverse years of their work to protect young Hoosiers.

Christ said HB 1093 would get rid of provisions that spell out how long 16- and 17-year-olds (and in some cases, 14- and 15-year-olds) can work.

For 16- and 17-year-olds, some of those provisions include working more than nine hours in a day, more than 40 hours a week and between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

But Culp said that’s not a legitimate concern, and that the goal is to encourage minors who want hands-on experience in the workplace.

”If the parent is giving their approval for a student to work certain hours, I mean I think that makes more sense to me than the government telling a parent when your student can or cannot work,” Culp said.