OLYMPIA — The Washington state House of Representatives has passed a bill to exempt the state’s Western Hockey League teams from state laws restricting child labor.
There are four WHL teams in the state: the Everett Silvertips, the Seattle Thunderbirds, the Spokane Chiefs and the Tri-City Americans.
Under Senate Bill 5893, which passed Wednesday in a 92-6 vote, the mostly 16-to-20-year olds who play for Washington’s four teams won’t be considered “employees” for legal purposes. The players, many of whom are attempting to play their way onto professional hockey teams, earn small stipends and a year of college for every year they’re on a WHL team.
The state’s Department of Labor and Industries has an open investigation into possible child labor law violations by the state’s four WHL teams. The bill to exempt those teams from that law now moves back to the Senate, which approved a version with slightly different language in a 47-0 vote on March 3.
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