Indiana State Senator Chip Perfect, CEO of Perfect North Slopes, says he consulted an ethics committee before filing the bill, but Democrats are calling on him to back off the legislation.

Indiana State Senator Chip Perfect (R-Lawrenceburg). Indiana Senate Republicans photo.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - Chip Perfect, the CEO of Perfect North Slopes and an Indiana State Senator, is facing questions about whether a bill he is carrying through the state legislature presents a conflict of interest.

Perfect, a Republican from Lawrenceburg, filed Senate Bill 342. The legislation would eliminate many of Indiana’s child labor laws pertaining to 16- and 17-year-olds’ number of hours and type of work they can perform. Work permit requirements would also be scrapped.

His popular ski business employs hundreds of minors every winter, leading to an Indianapolis Star report on Monday questioning whether his carrying of the bill is a conflict of interest.

Perfect explained Tuesday that he consulted the Senate Ethics Committee on the possible conflict.

“Back when I first began thinking through the merits of offering this legislation, I sought informal guidance from the chairman of the Ethics Committee at the time, who told me that he did not believe a conflict of interest would exist. Even so, this session, I requested a formal Ethics Committee ruling, which was unanimous and bipartisan in finding no conflict of interest. I believe this legislation includes positive reforms to the system, while still maintaining adequate protections for the Hoosier workforce,” Perfect said in a statement.

John Zody, chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party, was critical of the Ethics Committee’s approval, calling it a rubberstamp. He called on Perfect to stand down on the bill.

“It’s as plain as the nose on your face to anyone who works outside the marbled walls of the Statehouse: Sen. Perfect is set to personally gain from this proposal,” said Zody. “The Statehouse shouldn’t be a tool for the well-connected to make a quick buck. If Perfect has even a shred of respect for public trust in state government, he’ll withhold his vote.”

Zody pointed to Perfect’s own statements that the business spends an “incredible” amount of money on meeting child labor regulations.

“Perfect said it himself, the passage of this bill means more money in his pocket,” said Zody. “Hoosiers are sick and tired of the politics as usual and a culture of cronyism and corruption at the Statehouse.”

Debate of the bill’s merits

SB 342 is currently being considered in the Senate Pensions and Labor Committee, of which Perfect is a member. It was debated among those lawmakers and those testifying on January 23.

“Why in today’s world we want to impose limitations on students is beyond me,” Perfect said at the bill’s first hearing.

State Senator David Niezgodski (D-South Bend) expressed skepticism about the bill, indicating it could hurt Indiana’s high school graduation rate and grade levels.

“I think it adds one more factor to the labor poster in our employment places. Maybe we just do a little memo? I am very worried about the things that we are talking about repealing,” said Niezgodski

The assistant general manager and human resources director at Perfect North Slopes testified before the committee, focusing on the drawbacks of the minor work permit process. Students from Ohio or Kentucky who want to work in Indiana must first receive a work permit from an Indiana school.

“The out of state employees must get a work permit from a local school system which has no knowledge of their school records. For our home school students, which are some of the best, they also have no knowledge of the local school system for their records,” said assistant general manager Jonathan Davis.

The Indiana Department of Labor’s 2018 inspection of Perfect North Slopes found no violations, according to an agency spokesperson.

“Minors are a very important part of our business,” added Tim Doll, another member of the management team at Perfect North Slopes. “Certainly, we would like that to be a larger percentage of our participation, because they are such great employees and there are a lot of encumbrances currently preventing them from doing that, which the work permit is one of those.”

Doll called the work permits “bureaucratic nightmares,” citing the multiple steps they require students and employers to go through.

Perfect North Slopes HR director Stephanie Nutley pointed out a loophole in the Indiana law which allows minors to obtain multiple work permits to work as many jobs as they like.

“If a student has two or three jobs, nobody can follow those guidelines along with (a minor’s) other employers,” she said.

Another recreational business owner, Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari president CEO Matt Eckert, told the committee said work permits serve no purpose.

“The students come in to the secretary and they just pass them out,” said Eckert, who is vice president on his local school board.

Michael Meyers, director of the Bureau of Child Labor, said the purpose of Indiana’s child labor laws was to protect children and their education. He said with unemployment so low, many businesses are looking toward minors to meet their workforce needs.

“There are very few employers out there who are bad at it, but there are other employers who just don’t know the law,” Meyers said, adding that the bureau is increasing outreach and training for employers.

Republican State Senator Dennis Kruse said lawmakers should not be careful to “not throw the baby out with the bathwater” in eliminating child labor limitations.

The bill could receive a vote by the committee when it comes up for discussion and potential amendments Wednesday, January 30.