Florida

Florida senate committee approves easing child labor restrictions

Published

2 years ago

January 30, 2024

Florida senate committee approves easing child labor restrictions

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) – Child labor restrictions are one step closer to being eased in Florida.

Florida is among several states with the most stringent child labor laws in the country. Currently, 16- and 17-year-olds in Florida can’t work before 6:30 a.m. or after 11 p.m. when school is in session.

To change that, business and industry groups are supporting two proposals that would allow Florida teens to work longer.

“Those were some of the most formative things that I could’ve done that helped me truly become, I hope, the man I am today,” Sen. Danny Burgess, (R) Zephyrhills, said.

Sen. Burgess is proposing opening the window for 16- and 17-year-olds to be allowed to work, starting at 5:30 a.m. and ending at midnight. He said this would put Florida in line with seven other states, including Illinois.

Right now, 24 states follow the federal child labor standard, which has no restrictions on when 16- and 17-year-olds can work.

“This bill also recognizes the world has changed since I was born in 1986. That’s when I entered the world. And I think we live in a much different world now,” Sen. Burgess said.

A Senate committee approved the proposal Tuesday despite no one speaking in favor of this bill or a more similar bill in the House.

“This bill is really attempting to fill in a labor shortage,” Florida for All Policy Director Jackson Oberlink said.

Oberlink was one of the several people who spoke against the Senate bill Tuesday. He said he is worried kids will end up being overworked if this proposal becomes law.

“When your boss says you have to work until midnight on a school night or work more than 30 hours a week, it’s going to be hard to say no. We just think this bill is ripe for abuse,” Oberlink said.

Florida teens can file for a waiver with the state if they choose to work beyond the limitations under the current law.

The Senate proposal only changes the time when 16- and 17-year-olds are allowed to work and still has a couple more committees before it is up for a vote.

The House version gets rid of even more restrictions and is heading to the full House for a vote after several changes were made during committees this month.

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Florida

South Florida powers clash in dramatic championship matchups: High School Hightlights

Published

11 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

South Florida powers clash in dramatic championship matchups: High School Hightlights – CBS Miami

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The final Friday night of high school football delivered two dramatic South Florida championship matchups.

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Florida

Read Florida’s lawsuit against Roblox

Published

23 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

The Florida Attorney General’s Office on Thursday, Dec. 11, filed a lawsuit against popular online gaming platform Roblox, accusing the company of failing to protect its millions of underage users from predatory adults who would “find, groom, and abuse children.”

“Roblox aggressively markets to young children, but fails to protect them from sexual predators,” Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a post to X. “As a father of three little ones and as Florida’s attorney general, my number one priority is simple: to protect our kids.”

The lawsuit claims Florida children have been talked into taking and sending sexual images of themselves and lists several recent incidences, including a 20-year-old California man arrested last month for having sexually explicit conversations with a Palm Coast child and asking for nude photos.

A Roblox spokesperson said the lawsuit “fundamentally misrepresents how Roblox works.”

“We have advanced safeguards that monitor our platform for harmful content and communications,” Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman said in a statement, adding that the company — currently the most downloaded game in the world — will be rolling out additional safeguards “beyond what is required by law and what other platforms do.”

Read Florida’s lawsuit against Roblox

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What is Roblox?

San Mateo, California-based Roblox, released in 2006, hosts millions of user-created games (or “experiences”) constructed with the platform’s built-in game engine. Any user can create a game and share it with others, and there are millions of games available of all types.

The game platform and most games are free to use, but some cost to play. There is also a thriving economy based on Robux, an in-game virtual currency used to purchase virtual items. Roblox offers a subscription service called Roblox Premium that provides access to more features and a monthly allowance of Roblox.

Voice chat is available, but only for users aged 13 or older with verified ages. Age ratings were introduced for games in 2022, and in 2023, 17+ games were permitted to include more graphic violence, romance, and drinking.

According to Roblox, as of 2020, the monthly playerbase included half of all American children under the age of 16.

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Florida

Florida’s complete 2026 football schedule unveiled

Published

1 day ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Florida’s complete 2026 football schedule unveiled

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The 2026 football schedule for the Florida Gators has been set. Next year’s slate was unveiled Thursday night on SEC Network.

The most notable dates are Florida’s SEC opener on Sept. 19 — a Week 3 trip to Auburn, where the Gators haven’t played since 2011 — along with a road game at Texas on Oct. 17 and home games against Ole Miss (Sept. 26) and Oklahoma (Nov. 7).

Next season will mark the Sooners’ first-ever visit to Gainesville. The teams have previously played twice in the postseason, with the Gators defeating Oklahoma 24-14 in their first-ever meeting to win the 2008 national championship.

The Gators open the season in The Swamp on Sept. 5 against Florida Atlantic. UF’s other non-conference opponents will be Campbell (Sept. 12) and at Florida State (Nov. 28).

Florida is also hosting South Carolina (Oct. 10) and Vanderbilt (Nov. 21). The Gators haven’t played the Gamecocks or the Commodores since 2023.

UF takes on Georgia in Atlanta on Oct. 31 after the bye week. Florida’s other road games are Missouri (Oct. 3), Texas (Oct. 17) and Kentucky (Nov. 14).

The Gators will be led by first-year coach Jon Sumrall. He won the American Conference title with Tulane last week and has the Green Wave in the College Football Playoffs. They will have a rematch against Ole Miss on Dec. 20 in the first round after losing in Oxford, 45-10, on Sept. 20.

Sumrall was back in Gainesville this week to assemble his staff. So far, he has hired offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, defensive coordinator Brade White and defensive line coach Gerald Chatman.

Date	Opponent	Location
Sept. 5	Florida Atlantic	Gainesville, Florida
Sept. 12	Campbell	Gainesville, Florida
Sept. 19	at Auburn	Auburn, Alabama
Sept. 26	Ole Miss	Gainesville, Florida
Oct. 3	at Missouri	Columbia, Missouri
Oct. 10	South Carolina	Gainesville, Florida
Oct. 17	at Texas	Austin, Texas
Oct. 24	Bye
Oct. 31	Georgia	Atlanta, Georgia
Nov. 7	Oklahoma	Gainesville, Florida
Nov. 14	at Kentucky	Lexington, Kentucky
Nov. 21	Vanderbilt	Gainesville, Florida
Nov. 28	at Florida State	Tallahassee, Florida

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