Three New Updated Indiana Laws Take Effect January 1st

New year, new laws in Indiana. Here are three new updated laws that begin on January 1st, 2025.

As Hoosiers ring in the New Year, there will be a few changes coming to Indiana laws that folks will want to be aware of. Beginning on January 1st, 2025, Indiana will have some updated laws. These laws might be a hassle to some, while others might like the changes. Here are the three new updated laws that you need to be aware of as 2025 begins.

Updated Indiana Child Labor Laws

It appears that Indiana has eased restrictions on employers on minors who are working. The biggest change is that all restrictions on the number of hours or times a 16 or 17-year-old can work have been removed. That means that at age 16, teenagers can work any shift that an adult can, with or without adult supervision.

That being said, 14 or 15-year-olds who have a job, still have a limit on the number of hours that they can work on a school night. Teens in this age group will still be allowed to work three hours a day at most on a school day, and eight hours on a non-school day. The total amount of hours per week can not exceed 18 hours during the school year, and 40 hours per week during the summer. Additionally, 14 or 15-year-olds may not begin their workday before 7 a.m. or work past 7 p.m. during the school year or 9 p.m. in the summer.

According to the South Bend Tribune:

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.

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Indiana's Call Before You Dig Law

Another law that will take effect January 1st, 2025 involves a dig or excavation project. House Bill 1122 states that workers/individuals will not be allowed to start a dig or excavation project until two full business days after they notify utilities to ask for the location of underground lines to be marked.

The big thing to note about this updated law is the "prevailing time." The law now uses the term “prevailing time” which means the time observed in Indianapolis, Indiana. Indianapolis observes Eastern Standard Time, and all counties in Indiana observe Daylight Savings Time. The excavators and utilities in counties in Indiana that observe Central Standard time will need to be aware of the difference between their local time, and the “prevailing time” in the law.

South Bend Tribune notes that in addition to a new minimum time frame between when notice is given and the project starts, there is also a new maximum time frame. If you do not begin a project 10 calendar days from the date of notice, you will have to request a new notice, thus restarting the process. So, don't waste time starting your project. South Bend Tribune also says:

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.

New Indiana State Income Tax Rate

Hoosiers will notice that beginning January 1st, 2025, paychecks might look a little bigger. That's not due to a raise in pay or anything like that, it's because of Indiana's new flat income tax rate. The rate will drop from 3.05% to an even 3% for all Hoosier taxpayers. So, that's nice.

Now, while these laws take effect on January 1st, expect more new/updated laws to take effect on July 1st too. The fiscal year begins in July, so that is why the new laws go into effect so far into the year. For now, though, what are your thoughts on these three updated laws in Indiana?