To amend sections 3331.01, 3331.12, 4109.01, 4109.03, 4109.05, 4109.06, and 4109.08 and to enact sections 4109.25, 4109.26, 4109.27, 4109.28, and 4109.29 of the Revised Code to address minors working as performers in the entertainment industry.
HB546 would create a new set of Ohio child labor rules specifically for minors working as performers in the entertainment industry. It amends existing age-and-schooling certificate provisions so that children under 14 may receive a certificate when the work is as a minor performer, and it updates the general child labor chapter to define “minor performer” and carve out special treatment for those jobs. The bill also preserves existing protections for minors generally, while adding performer-specific exceptions and requirements.
For minor performers, the bill would prohibit employment that is detrimental to the child’s life, health, safety, welfare, morals, or schooling. It would limit performers under 16 to 18 hours of work in a school week and 40 hours in a non-school week, require a parent or guardian to accompany them at rehearsals, appearances, performances, and related sessions, and require employers to provide instruction that meets Ohio’s education laws for compulsory-school-age children. For minors who are not yet of compulsory school age, the bill adds a physician-certification process and parental consent requirements before employment can begin.
The bill also creates a trust-account requirement for paid minor performers. In most cases, a parent, guardian, custodian, or trustee must establish a trust account within seven days of the employment contract, and employers must deposit 15 percent of the minor’s earnings into that trust within 15 days after services are performed. If no trust is established, the employer must withhold the funds until one is created, and the trust is subject to judicial supervision. The requirement does not apply if the minor’s gross earnings are under $1,000.
More broadly, HB546 would amend Ohio’s child labor statutes to make clear that the general restrictions on hazardous work, hours, and age documentation do not apply in the same way to minor performers, while still preserving oversight through school, physician, parent, and court involvement. It would also update enforcement provisions so that employers must keep performer documentation on file and so that false statements made to secure a minor’s employment can be penalized.
Because the bill is only at the introduction stage and there are no committee transcripts or votes available, there is no recorded formal debate or vote-based sentiment. Based on the text alone, the bill appears aimed at balancing child protection with the practical needs of film, television, theatrical, and related entertainment work. The main policy tension is between expanding opportunities for young performers and ensuring safeguards around schooling, health, supervision, and control of earnings.
HB546 would revise Ohio’s Revised Code chapters governing child labor and age-and-schooling certificates, adding new sections specifically for minor performers and amending existing provisions to accommodate entertainment-industry employment. It would create new legal duties for employers of child performers, parents or guardians, physicians, schools, and courts, while also modifying enforcement and documentation rules under the state’s child labor framework.
There is no recorded committee testimony or vote history in the provided materials, so no direct legislative sentiment can be measured. The bill’s structure suggests a generally protective but enabling approach: it is designed to permit child performance work under tighter, industry-specific safeguards rather than to broadly loosen child labor rules. The overall tone is regulatory and child-protective, with an emphasis on schooling, supervision, and financial protections.
The likely points of contention are whether the bill sets the right balance between allowing minors to work in entertainment and protecting them from exploitation, overwork, or interference with education. Potential concerns include the under-14 exception for performers, the reduced hour limits for younger performers, the trust-account mandate and who controls it, and whether the physician and parental-consent requirements are sufficient safeguards. Supporters would likely emphasize child welfare protections and clarity for the entertainment industry, while critics may focus on the risks of normalizing child labor in a high-pressure industry.