You can help protect your teens:
- Realize that teens and all workers are entitled to a safe and healthful work environment.
See
Workers Rights under
the Occupational
Safety and Health
Act of 1970.
Don't assume your teenagers are aware of their rights or that employers are aware of child labor laws for teenagers.
- Take an active role in the employment decisions of your children. Some worksites are safer than others. Know where your teens are working and what they are doing. Frequently ask teens what they did at work and discuss any problems or concerns.
- Discuss with your teen
the types of work
they are involved
with and the
training and
supervision provided
by the employer.
- Watch for signs that the job is taking too much of a physical or mental toll on your teen. How is your child's performance at school? If there is loss of interest in or energy for school, the job may be be too demanding. Other signs of concern could include increased stress levels, anxiety, fatigue, depression, and
use of alcohol or other drugs.
- Support your teen in reporting hazards to managers or if necessary, to
OSHA or your state department of labor,
when a work environment seems unsafe.
- Know the
Federal child labor laws and the State child labor laws for the area in which you live, so you can recognize if employers are following the law. For example, are employers working your teens longer hours than allowed or in unsafe conditions?
- Federal law limits the number and hours that 14- and 15-year-olds can work in non-agricultural worksites.
- They are not permitted to work during school hours, or before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. between Labor Day and June 1. During the summer they can work only between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. (Again, state laws may be more stringent.) When school is in session, teens aren't allowed to work more than 18 hours each week, more than three hours on a school day, or more than eight hours on a weekend day or holiday. When school is not in session, they're prohibited from working more than 40 hours each week or eight hours per day.
- Here's an
example of of
jobs and
work-related
activities that
the federal
government
prohibits for
non-agricultural
workers under 18
years of age.
- Driving a motor vehicle as a regular part of the job or operate a forklift
- Operating many types of power equipment such as meat slicers, power saws, and bakery machinery
- Wrecking, demolition, excavation, or roofing
- Logging, mining, or working in sawmills
- Meat packing or slaughtering
- Any job involving exposure to radiation
- Any job where explosives are manufactured or stored
- Anyone of age 14 or 15 is also banned from the following jobs or work-related activities:
- Baking or cooking
- Operating power-driven machines such as lawnmowers and electric hedge clippers. (Low-risk machines like photocopiers and computers are alright.)
- Climbing ladders or scaffolding
- Working in warehouses
- Manufacturing, building, or working in construction
- Loading or unloading trucks, railroad cars, or conveyors
- For a
complete
list of
prohibited
jobs, see
the Fair
Labor Standards
Act
Advisor.
- Youth of any age may be employed at any time, in any occupation in agriculture on a farm owned or operated by their parent or guardian.
See the Department
of Labor
(DOL) eLaws Child
Labor Laws
advisor
for additional
information on
agricultural
employment.
Additional Information
Accessibility Assistance: Contact the OSHA Directorate of Science,
Technology and Medicine at 202-693-2300 for assistance accessing
PDF materials.
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