"I went to work at 11 years old," he said at a town hall meeting on Friday in Topsham, Maine. "I became governor. It's not a big deal. Work doesn't hurt anybody."
Huff Post — Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) is backing changes to the state’s child labor laws.
The minimum wage in Maine is $7.50 an hour, and there is no training or subminimum wage for students.
The new legislation, would permit for employers to pay anyone under the age of 20 as little as $5.25 an hour for their first 180 days on the job with no maximum number of hours a minor 16 years of age or older can work on a school day . A minor under 16 will be ABLE TO WORK up to four hours on a school day AS LONG AS THESE HOURS ARE NOT WHEN hours when school is IN session. Students could work as until 11:00 p.m. on school nights.
“The wage that we’re talking about is a training wage for young kids — 14, 15 years old. They can go out and get a permit, they learn to go to work, they learn work skills, so that as they get older — and it’s only for a short period of time. I forget if it’s 90 days. Then they have to go up to the full minimum.”