Summer 1999

FLSA CORNER: Child Labor

As summer approaches, many counties hire high school students on a temporary basis. Giving jobs to these young people is an admirable endeavor, but there are some restrictions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) when it comes to hiring employees under 18.

The child labor provisions of the FLSA are designed to protect the educational opportunities for young people and to prohibit their employment in jobs that might be detrimental to their health and well being. Generally speaking, the child labor restrictions apply to private sector businesses that affect interstate commerce and have an annual dollar volume of business of not less than $500,000. However, all local governments, along with certain other entities, are covered.

Some of the basic provisions that would affect counties include the following:

• Individuals 18 years of age or older may perform any job for unlimited hours;
• Individuals who are 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 non-manufacturing, non-mining, non-hazardous jobs under the following conditions:
  • No more than 3 hours on a school day;
  • No more than 18 hours in a school week;
  • No more than 8 hours on a non-school day;
  • No more than 40 hours in a non-school week;
  • They may not begin work before 7:00 a.m. nor work after 7:00 p.m., except from June 1 through Labor Day;
  • From June 1 through Labor Day, evening hours are extended until 9:00 p.m.;
  • Individuals 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.

Here are some jobs in which youths 14 and 15 are permitted to work:

• Office and clerical work including the operation of office machines;
• Errand and delivery work by foot, bicycle, and public transportation;
• Clean-up work, including the use of vacuum cleaners and floor waxers, and grounds maintenance but not including the use of power-driven mowers or cutters;
• Work in connection with cars and trucks confined to dispensing gasoline and oil; courtesy service, car cleaning, washing and polishing, but not work involving the use of pits, racks or lifting apparatus, or involving the inflation of any tire mounted on a rim equipped with a removable ring.

Examples of work prohibited for minors 14 and 15 years of age include:

• The operation or tending of any hoisting apparatus or any power-driven machinery other than office machines;
• The operation of motor vehicles or service as helpers on such vehicles;
• Work in warehouses except office and clerical work;
• Loading and unloading goods to and from trucks, railroad cars or conveyors;
• Construction, including demolition and repair;
• Any occupation that is declared to be hazardous for the employment of minors 16 and 17 years of age or which is determined to be detrimental to their health or well-being.

While the restrictions on 16 and 17-year-olds is not as extensive as that for 14 and 15-year-olds, there are still some specific restrictions. Examples of job restrictions that might be found in some counties include:

• Motor vehicle driver or outside helper on any public road or highway;
• Operator of an elevator, crane, derrick, hoist or high lift truck, except for the operation of an unattended automatic operation passenger elevator or an electric or air operated hoist not exceeding a one-
  ton capacity;
• All work in roofing operations;
• Excavation operations.

The FLSA prohibits employees under 17 years of age from driving on pub-lic roads as part of employment. Employees who are 17 years old may drive cars and trucks as part of job only if all the following requirements are met:

• The driving is limited to daylight hours;
• The 17-year-old holds a state license valid for the type of driving involved in the job;
• The 17-year-old has successfully completed a state approved driver education course and has no record of moving violations at the time of hire;
• The automobile or truck is equipped with a seat belt for the driver and any passengers, and the employer has instructed the youth that the seat belts must be used when driving the vehicle;
• The automobile or truck does not exceed 6,000 pounds gross vehicle weight;
• Such driving is only occasional and incidental to the 17-year-old's employment (This means that the employee may spend no more than one-third of the work time in any workday and no more than 20 percent of the work time in any workweek driving.); and
• The driving may not involve:
  • Towing a vehicle;
  • Route deliveries of route sales;
  • Transportation for hire of property, goods, or passengers;
  • Urgent time-sensitive deliveries;
  • Transporting more than three passengers, including employees of the employer;
  • Driving beyond a 30 mile radius from the youth's place of employment;
  • More than two trips away from the primary place of employment in any single day to deliver the employer's goods to a customer (other than urgent time-sensitive deliveries which are prohibited);
  • More that two trips away from the primary place of employment in any single day to transport passengers, other than employees of the employer.

(The above requirements apply whether the


 

By allowing minors to operate potentially dangerous machinery, or otherwise ignoring child labor laws, the county puts itself and its young employees at risk

youth is driving a personal or employer owned vehicle.)

The child labor regulations also require that specific records be kept. These include:

• Date of birth for employees under 19 years of age;
• The minor employee's daily starting and quitting times;
• Daily and weekly hours worked; and
• The employee's occupation.

Counties may protect themselves from unintentional violations of the child labor provisions by keeping on file an employment or age certificate on each youth employed to show they are the minimum age for the job.

Violations of the child labor provisions of the FLSA subject an employer to civil money penalties of $10,000. In assessing penalties, the Department of Labor considers certain relevant factors including the size of the employer; the gravity of the violations, including the number of children employed, the time of day at which they worked, whether or not the work was hazardous, and the previous history of violations.

The full text of the child labor rules are found in 29 C.F.R., Part 570 (Child Labor Regulations, Orders and Statements of Interpretation).

Published by the Texas Association of Counties