3 laws change in Indiana on January 1. How they’ll affect child labor, digging and taxes – South Bend Tribune

When 2025 rings in on Jan. 1, three new laws will take effect in Indiana.

Indiana child labor laws and penalties for breaking them relaxed

Indiana has eased restrictions on children working.

Most notably, all restrictions on the number of hours or the times a 16- or 17-year-old may work have been removed. Beginning at age 16, teens can work any shift an adult can work, with or without adult supervision.

Children who are 14 or 15 years old still will have a limit on the number of hours they can work on a school night, but more exemptions are laid out for younger teens who don’t have to meet those restrictions.

• Children 14 or 15 years old will still be allowed to work a maximum of three hours a day on a school day, eight hours on a non-school day, 18 hours per week during the school year and 40 hours per week in the summer.
• They may not start work before 7 a.m. or work past 7 p.m. during the school year or 9 p.m. in the summer.

Indiana law remains in keeping with federal law prohibiting most forms of employment for children under 14 years of age. Similarly, federal law still prohibits assigning minors certain hazardous jobs, including an additional list of jobs deemed unsafe for 14- and 15-year-olds.

Employers will no longer be fined for violations in working hours or proper shifts that involve increments of 10 minutes or less. Indiana may provide employers with an initial warning and modest fines for further violations, though federal inspectors may still impose harsher penalties.

Call before you dig law

Work will not be allowed to start on a dig or excavation project until two full business days after notifying utilities to ask for the location of any underground lines to be marked. No digging will be allowed to begin before 7 a.m. in Indianapolis. (That means projects in the northwest and southwest corners of the state will be measured not in their local time zone.)

In addition to a new minimum time frame between when notice is given and the project starts, there is a new maximum time frame, as well. If a project has not begun 10 calendar days from the date of notice, a new request must be made and the process restarted.

The law will also now require any excavator to stay at least two feet away in every direction from the location marked for utility lines.

Finally, the law will require utilities to provide a response on all tickets requesting line markings within two business days of the request, and anyone excavating will be required to acknowledge having received the positive responses from any utilities before beginning work.

Tickets and responses are available for searching at Indiana811.org.

Indiana’s state income tax rate lowered slightly

Indiana’s flat income tax rate will drop from 3.05% for all taxpayers to 3% even.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

   • Target 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor.
   • Indicator 8.7.1: Proportion and number of children aged 5-17 years engaged in child labor, by sex and age group (relevant for the restrictions on child labor laws).

2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

   • Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all.
   • Indicator 9.1.2: Passenger and freight volumes, by mode of transport (relevant for the call before you dig law).

3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

   • Target 16.5: Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms.
   • Indicator 16.5.1: Proportion of persons who had at least one contact with a public official and who paid a bribe to a public official, or were asked for a bribe by those public officials, during the previous 12 months (relevant for the penalties for violations in working hours or proper shifts).

Source: southbendtribune.com