Complete Child Labor Exemptions
The Fair Labor Standards Act provides for certain exemptions. Youth younger than
16 years of age working in a business solely owned by their parents or by
persons standing in place of
their parents, can work any time of day and for any number of hours.
However, parents are prohibited from employing their child in manufacturing or
mining or in any of the occupations declared
hazardous by the Secretary of Labor.
In addition, the child labor rules do not apply to:
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Youth employed as actors or performers in motion pictures, theatrical, radio,
or television productions;
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Youth engaged in the delivery of newspapers to consumers; and
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Youth working at home in the making of wreaths composed of natural holly, pine,
cedar, or other evergreens (including the harvesting of the evergreens).
Partial Exemptions from Non-Agricultural
Hazardous Order Prohibitions
Limited exemptions from some of the hazardous occupations rules allow 16- and 17-
year-old apprentices and student-learners to perform otherwise prohibited work (hazardous
jobs) under certain conditions.
The hazardous occupations in which youth may work if the those conditions are met are: HO
#5 Power-driven woodworking machines; HO #8 Power-driven metal-forming, punching and
shearing machines; HO #10 Meat packing or processing (including the use of power-driven meat slicing machines);
HO #12 Power-driven paper-product machines, including scrap paper balers and paper box compactors;
HO #14 Power-driven circular saws, band saws, and guillotine shears; HO #16 Roofing operations and all work on or about a roof; and
HO #17 Excavation operations.
There are no similar exemptions from the hazardous occupations rules for youth
younger than 16. 14- and 15-year-olds, however, may be employed in approved
school-administered and school-supervised Work
Experience and Career Exploration Programs. Such programs allow
variations in the rules and permit employment during school hours, for as many
as 23 hours in school weeks, and in otherwise prohibited occupations for which
an official exception has been authorized by the Department of Labor.
FLSA Section 13(c)(7) creates a limited exemption from the youth employment
provisions for certain minors 14 through 17 years of age who are excused from
compulsory school attendance beyond the eighth grade. This exemption allows
eligible youth to be employed inside and outside of businesses that use
machinery to process wood products (such as sawmills, furniture manufacturers,
garden shed and gazebo manufacturers, cabinet makers and pallet shops) with
some restrictions, but does not allow them to operate or assist in the
operation of power-driven woodworking machinery.
Note: All states have child labor rules
and mandatory school attendance laws. You may want to check on your state rules
after you have completed this section of the Advisor.
Complete Child Labor Exemptions
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 person
standing in place of their parent.
Exemptions from Hazardous Order
Prohibitions
With the exception of the parental exemption explained above, there are only a
few exemptions from
the hazardous occupations in agriculture and they apply only to 14- and
15-year-olds. The circumstances where 14- and 15-year-olds may be employed in
certain hazardous occupations are:
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Student-learners in a bona fide vocational agriculture program may work in
HO/A # 1 through #6, under a written agreement which provides that:
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Work is incidental to the training;
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Work shall be intermittent, for short periods of time, and under the direct and
close supervision of a qualified, experienced person;
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School shall give safety instruction coordinated by the employer with
on-the-job training; and
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A schedule of organized and progressive work processes to be performed on the
job has been prepared.
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14- or 15-year-olds who hold certificates of completion of the 4-H Federal
Extension Training Programs for tractor operation and/or machine operation may
work in occupations listed in HO/A# 1 and #2 for which they have been trained,
provided that the youth:
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Has been instructed by his or her employer on safe and proper operation of the
specific equipment to be used; and
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Is continuously and closely supervised by the employer where feasible; or,
where not feasible, is checked for safety by the employer at least at
mid-morning, noon, and mid-afternoon.
Employers must keep copies of written agreements and certificates under these
programs.
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