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SMALL BUSINESS HANDBOOK: LAWS, REGULATIONS AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SERVICES2. CHILD LABOR (Nonagriculture)Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as Amended (Title 29, U.S. Code, Section 201 et seq.; 29 CFR 570-580).Who is CoveredThe child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (the Act) are designed to protect the educational opportunities of youths and prohibit their employment in jobs and under conditions detrimental to their health and well-being.In nonagriculture, the child labor provisions apply to enterprises that have employees who are engaged in interstate commerce, producing goods for interstate commerce, or handling, selling or working on goods or materials that have been moved in or produced for interstate commerce. For most firms, an annual dollar volume of business test of not less than $500,000 applies. The following are covered by the Act regardless of their dollar volume of business: hospitals; institutions primarily engaged in the care of the sick, aged, mentally ill or disabled who reside on the premises; schools for children who are mentally or physically disabled or gifted; preschools, elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education; and federal, state and local government agencies. Employees of firms that do not meet the $500,000 annual dollar volume test may be individually covered in any workweek in which they are individually engaged in interstate commerce, the production of goods for interstate commerce or an activity which is closely related and directly essential to the production of such goods. Domestic service workers, such as day workers, housekeepers, chauffeurs, cooks or full-time babysitters, are also covered if they receive at least $50 in cash wages in a calendar quarter from their employers or work a total of more than 8 hours a week for one or more employers. An enterprise that was covered by the Act on March 31, 1990, and ceased to be covered because of the increase in the annual dollar volume test to $500,000 as required under the 1989 amendments to the Act, remains subject to the Act's child labor provisions. Sixteen is the minimum age for most nonfarm work. However, youths may, at any age: deliver newspapers; perform in radio, television, movies, or theatrical productions; work for their parents in their solely owned nonfarm businesses (except in mining, manufacturing, or in any other occupation declared hazardous by the Secretary of Labor); or gather evergreens and make evergreen wreaths. Basic Provisions/RequirementsThe Act's child labor provisions include restrictions on the hours of work and occupations for youths under age 16. These provisions set forth 17 hazardous occupations orders for jobs declared by the Secretary of Labor to be too dangerous for minors under age 18 to perform. The Act prohibits the shipment of goods in interstate commerce which were produced in violation of the child labor provisions. It is also a violation of the Act to fire or in any other manner discriminate against an employee for filing a complaint or for participating in a legal proceeding under the Act. The permissible jobs and hours of work, by age, in nonfarm work are as follows:Youths 18 years or older may perform any job for unlimited hours Youths age 16 and 17 may perform any job not declared hazardous by the Secretary of Labor, for unlimited hours Youths age 14 and 15 may work outside school hours in various nonmanufacturing, nonmining, nonhazardous jobs under the following conditions: no more than 3 hours on a school day, 18 hours in a school week, 8 hours on a nonschool day, or 40 hours in a nonschool week. In addition, they may not begin work before 7 a.m. nor work after 7 p.m., except from June 1 through Labor Day, when evening hours are extended until 9 p.m. Youths aged 14 and 15 who are enrolled in an approved Work Experience and Career Exploration Program (WECEP) may be employed for up to 23 hours in school weeks and 3 hours on school days (including during school hours). Detailed information on the occupations determined to be hazardous by the Secretary is available by contacting the Wage and Hour Division at the offices listed below. Department of Labor regulations require employers to keep records of the date of birth of employees under age 19, including daily starting and quitting times, daily and weekly hours worked, and the employee's occupation. Employers may protect themselves from unintentional violation of the child labor provisions by keeping on file an employment or age certificate for each youth employed to show that the youth is the minimum age for the job. Certificates issued under most state laws are acceptable for this purpose. Assistance AvailableMore detailed information, including copies of explanatory brochures and regulatory and interpretative materials, may be obtained by contacting the offices listed in the appendix.PenaltiesEmployers are subject to a civil money penalty of up to $10,000 for each employee employed in violation of the child labor provisions. When a civil money penalty is assessed, employers have the right, within 15 days of receipt of the notice of such penalty, to file an exception to the determination. When an exception is filed, it is referred to an administrative law judge for a hearing and determination as to the appropriateness of the penalty. Either party may appeal the decision of the administrative law judge to the Secretary of Labor. If an exception is not timely filed, the penalty becomes final. The Act also provides, in the case of a conviction for a willful violation, for a fine of up to $10,000; or, for a second offense committed after the conviction of such person for a similar offense, for a fine of not more than $10,000 and imprisonment for up to six months, or both. The Secretary of Labor may also bring suit to obtain injunctions to restrain persons from violating the Act.Relation to State, Local and Other Federal LawsMany states have child labor laws. When both this Act and a state law apply, the law setting the higher standards must be observed. |
