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Michele Schermann, John
Shutske
University of Minnesota Extension Service
School's
out and kids are looking for jobs. Based on the number of
questions coming to our office, we know that many young people
are looking for and getting jobs on farms. Farmers who hire
someone under the age of 16 to operate a tractor or perform
a wide variety of other farm jobs could be breaking the law.
Code of Federal Regulation #29, Subpart E-1, prohibits hiring
children under age 16 to do such tasks unless they are at
least 14 and have completed a certification course covering
safe op ration of agricultural equipment. The following discussion
applies only to agricultural workers in Minnesota; Wisconsin's
regulations are slightly different.
We get
a number of questions about what youth working on the farm
can and cannot do. The regulations can be confusing. Following
are the most commonly asked questions:
My
12 year old child is working for me on my farm. What is it
legal for the child to do and what can't the child do?
Legally,
there are no requirements in Minnesota for your own children
working on your farm. This includes work in the field and
operating machinery on the highway. However, parents need
to carefully consider the appropriateness of children operating
tractors and machinery. Our injury investigations show that
a major cause of farm injuries to children is performance
of tasks beyond their developmental ability. For more information,
contact your Minnesota county extension office and ask for
Fold r 6068, Is Your Child Protected from Injury on the
Farm?
I'm
considering hiring a teenager to work on my farm. What do
I need to know?
There
are a series of operations in agriculture that have been specified
by the Federal government as being particularly hazardous
for children below the age of 16. These include:
- Operating
tractors larger than 20 PTO horsepower, or connecting and
disconnecting implements to such tractors.
- Operating
or assisting to operate a corn picker, grain combine, hay
mower, forage harvester, hay baler, potato digger, mobile
pea viner, feed grinder, crop dryer, forage blower, auger
conveyor, the unloading mechanism of a self-unloading wagon
or trailer, power post-hole digger, power post driver, or
nonwalking type rotary mower.
- Operating
or assisting to operate a trencher or earth-moving equipment,
fork lift, or a power-driven circular, band, or chain saw.
- Working
in a yard, pen, or stall, occupied by a bull, boar, or stud
horse, a sow with suckling pigs, or a cow with newborn calf.
- Felling,
bucking, skidding, loading, or unloading timber with a diameter
of more than 6 in.
- Working
from a ladder or scaffold at a height over 20 ft.
- Driving
a bus, truck, or automobile transporting passengers, or
riding on a tractor as a passenger or helper.
- Working
inside fruit, forage, or grain storage designed to retain
an oxygen deficient or toxic atmosphere, an upright silo
within two weeks after silage has been added or when a top
unloading device is in operating position, manure pit, horizontal
silo while operating a tractor for packing purposes.
- Handling
or applying agricultural chemicals.
- Handling
or using a blasting agent.
- Transporting,
transferring, or applying anhydrous ammonia.
Kids under
the age of 16 cannot legally perform these tasks off of their
parents' farm. The only exception is for tasks 1 and 2 (listed
above) if the person you hire is 14 or 15 years of age and has
completed a tractor and machine operation certification course.
What
are my responsibilities if I hire a kid to work on my farm?
- Pay
a fair and just wage. Minimum wage for farm work in Minnesota
as of July 1, 1996 is $4.25 per hour for "large employers"
(grossing $362,500 or more during previous four quarters)
and $4.00 per hour for "small employers" (grossing less
than $362,500 during the previous four quarters). Individual
farm workers under the age of 18 are exempt from the minimum
wage regulations unless they are field workers and their
parents or guardians are also employed as field workers.
Farm workers under he age of 18 are also exempt from overtime
pay unless they are employed as corn detasslers or field
workers working with a parent or guardian.
- Provide
adequate training and supervision for every task the employee
performs, regardless of age. Never make any assumptions
about the employee's ability, and keep good employment records.
- Allow
frequent food, water, and rest breaks. Provide clean, cool
water and snacks. Be familiar with the signs of heat stress.
- Pay
attention to workers, and if teenagers appear tired or ill,
let them go home.
There are
no state vehicle driver's license requirements for operating
tractors and other farm implements in Minnesota. However, kids
under 16 working off of their parents' farm must be certified
to operate farm equipment on the highway or in the field. Also,
remember that even though it may be legal to allow your 7 year-old
to drive a tractor, allowing this activity puts the child (and
other drivers on public roadways) in great danger.
Employment
and payment of minors working on the farm is very complex.
If you would like to see the Code of Federal Regulation #29,
Subpart E-1, check with your local reference librarian. Better
yet, find it and other safety and health links on our World
Wide Web page at:
- http://safety.cfans.umn.edu/
You may
also contact the Department of Labor and Industry in St. Paul
at (612) 296-2282 for further information. For more information
about Wisconsin regulatory requirements e-mail Cheryl Skjolaas
at skjolaas@wisplan.uwex.wisc.edu.
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Disclaimer
and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not
represent NIOSH policy. Information included in NASD appears
by permission of the author and/or copyright holder. More
NASD Review: 04/2002
Michele
Schermann, Assistant Scientist.
John Shutske, Minnesota Farm Safety and Health Specialist
Page
URL: http://www.bbe.umn.edu/extens/ennotes/ensum96/kids.html
Last updated July 16, 1996 by webmaster@gaia.bae.umn.edu
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator
and employer.
This
page is part of the Biosystems
and Agricultural Engineering Department web at http://www.bbe.umn.edu/
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