Authority: Secs. 3, 11, 12, 52 Stat. 1060, as amended, 1066, as
amended, 1067, as amended; 29 U.S.C. 203, 211, 212.
Source: 41 FR 26835, June 29, 1976, unless otherwise noted.
(a) To protect an employer from unwitting violation of the minimum
age standards under the Act, section 3(1) of the Act provides that
``oppressive child labor shall not be deemed to exist by virtue of the
employment in any occupation of any person with respect to whom the
employer shall have on file an unexpired certificate issued and held
pursuant to regulations of the Secretary of Labor certifying that such
person is above the oppressive child-labor age.'' The provisions of this
subpart provide for age certificates based on the best available
documentary evidence of age. Certificates issued and effective pursuant
to this subpart furnish an employer with proof of the age of a minor
employee upon which he may rely in determining whether the minor is at
least the minimum age for the occupation in which he is to be employed.
(b) The employment of any minor shall not be deemed to constitute
oppressive shild labor under the Act if his employer shall have on file
an unexpired certificate, issued and held in accordance with this
subpart, which shall be either:
(1) A Federal certificate of age, issued by a person authorized by
the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, showing that such minor
is above the oppressive child-labor age applicable to the occupation in
which he is employed, or
(2) A State certificate, which may be in the form of and known as an
age, employment, or working certificate or permit, issued by or under
the supervision of a State agency in a State which has been designated
for this purpose by the Administrator showing that such minor is above
the oppressive child-labor age applicable to the occupation in which the
minor is employed. States so designated are listed in Sec. 570.9(a). Any
such certificate shall have the force and effect specified in
Sec. 570.9.
(c) The prospective employer of a minor, in order to protect himself
from unwitting violation of the Act, should obtain a certificate (as
specified in paragraphs (b) (1) and (2) of this section) for the minor
if there is any reason to believe that the minor's age
may be below the applicable minimum for the occupation in which he is to
be employed. Such certificate should always be obtained where the minor
claims to be only 1 or 2 years above the applicable minimum age for the
occupation in which he is to be employed. It should also be obtained for
every minor claiming to be older than 2 years above the applicable
minimum age if his physical appearance indicates that this may not be
true.
