Caution: Kids at Work – The DOL Amends Its Child Labor Regulations
If you currently employ minor children, you likely already know that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) restricts the hours and manner in which minors work. By the same token, you also probably know that the DOL’s so-called “guidance” on these issues is really just confusing regulations and unofficial enforcement positions that employers have struggled with for years. Well, employers have finally gotten some relief. On May 20, 2010, the DOL amended its regulations concerning the hours that minors can work and the tasks that they can perform. Many of the DOL’s changes are not really changes at all though – rather, the DOL has simply formalized its previously unofficial enforcement positions on various topics. But there are a few rules that have changed, and employers who use workers under the age of 18 should be aware of the changes that affect their industry.
Some of the activities that certain minors could not previously perform, but now can perform, include the following:
• Minors age 14 or 15 can now ride in the enclosed passenger compartments of motor vehicles, except when a significant reason for the minors being passengers is for the purpose of performing work in connection with the transporting (or assisting in the transporting) of other persons or property.
• Minors age 16 or 17 may now use lightweight countertop mixers that meet certain specifications (i.e., they cannot be hardwired into the power source, the motor cannot be more than ½ horsepower, and the bowl’s capacity cannot exceed 5 quarts).
• Minors age 14 or 15 who are employed in and pursuant to certain work-study programs may now work during school hours and more than 3 hours on a school day.
Some of the more important points that the DOL clarified in its new child labor regulations include the following:
• The prohibitions on minors working during the hours when “school is in session” or working more than 3 hours on a day when school is in session or more than 18 hours in a week when school is in session refer to the local public school where the minor resides – even if the minor attends a private school or is home-schooled.
• The rules concerning the times of day a minor can work and the number of hours a minor can work do not apply to minors who have graduated, been permanently expelled, are under a court order instructing them not to attend school or received a waiver or have been excused from school attendance.
• While minors age 14 or 15 cannot load or unload motor vehicles, they can load and unload light, non-power-driven personal hand tools that they will be using (such as brooms or rakes) and personal items (such as backpacks or coats).
• The DOL has formalized its longstanding interpretation that the prohibition on minors age 14 or 15 from working in walk-in freezers or meat coolers does not restrict these minors from briefly entering freezers momentarily to retrieve items.
• Minors age 14 or 15 can perform work of a mental or artistically creative nature, such as computer programming, teaching, singing or drawing.