Ohio employers need all the help they can get, as shortages in many industries are affecting their ability to stay in business and serve their customers. Employers are looking to all those legally in this country (refugees, those on work visas, etc.); those of all ages; and those whose education and experience do not match the job description, but who are trainable and willing to work.

Now lawmakers have a chance to give them a little extra help in the form of extended legal hours for teenagers younger than 16. According to a report by News 5 Cleveland, state Senate Bill 30 would allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work until 9 p.m. year-round with permission from a parent or legal guardian. This would be a change from the limit of 7 p.m. during the school year and 9 p.m. during the summer or on any school holiday of five days or more.

State Sen. Tim Schaffer, R-Lancaster, is right that such a move could help employers fill gaps that have proved difficult to deal with over the past couple of years. And, in turn, filling those gaps helps the teens earn a little money, and helps the employers better serve customers.

There is, of course, objection from academia to giving parents the option to allow their children to work during two extra hours per day.

“We don’t need to give parents choices in some areas if we are able to determine that that choice is a really bad choice,” Case Western Reserve University professor Sharona Hoffman told News 5 Cleveland.

Yeah, you read that right. One wonders who Hoffman thinks “we” are.

And, to be clear, this legislation does NOT change the restrictions that Ohio teens aged 14 and 15 are not to work between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., and are not to work more than 3 hours a day and 18 hours a week while school is in session. The reality is that such a change may mean nothing more than teens doing their homework before they go work a few hours, rather than after.

But without parental permission, nothing changes.

As the Ohio Restaurant Association’s John Barker put it, these changes are “nothing extravagant.” They simply provide a little more flexibility for parents, teens and employers. Surely lawmakers will understand preventing parents from having the ability to make such a decision doesn’t help anyone.