Don't Kid Around With Child Labor Laws
by Rick Galbreath, SPHR
rick@performtogrow.com
As industrialization moved workers from farms into urban areas and factory work, children were often preferred because factory owners viewed them as more manageable, cheaper and less likely to strike. In the early decades of the twentieth century, the number of child laborers in the U.S. peaked. Federal standards for child labor were finally established when the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed in 1938.
Child labor may look a lot different today than it did in the past, but the FLSA continues to protect American children. In fact, the Department of Labor just raised the maximum penalty for violators of the law. The maximum penalty that may be imposed on an employer for violating the child labor provisions of the FLSA was raised to $11,000- an increase of 10 percent. More significantly, any violation of child labor laws that causes the death or serious injury of an employee under the age of 18 may result in a maximum penalty of $50,000- a $39,000 jump. The penalty may be doubled to $100,000 for a repeated or willful violation.
Overall, the FLSA regulates child labor by (a) setting minimum ages for jobs that have been determined to be particularly hazardous, (b) setting minimum ages for all other jobs and (c) limiting the hours that children are permitted to work.
The FLSA separates agriculture from other industries. The minimum age for particularly hazardous work in agriculture is age 16; whereas the required age for particularly hazardous work in all other sectors is 18. In jobs that are not considered particularly hazardous, the FLSA sets the normal minimum age for employment in agriculture at 14 years; in other industries the normal minimum age is 16 years. The Secretary of Labor has issued regulations permitting children of ages 14 and 15 to work in limited, specified jobs in retail food service, and gasoline service establishments.
The law also restricts work hours for some minors. There are no limitations on work hours for 16 and 17-year-olds. Yet there are strict regulations for any 14 and 15-year-old children that are permitted to work. All work before 7am and after 7pm is prohibited. However, work until 9pm is allowed from June 1 through Labor Day.
The law also protects children by requiring employment certificates. This certificate confirms that a minor is old enough to work, physically capable to perform the job and that the job will not interfere with the minor's education.
The FLSA does not necessarily protect every working child, however. For instance, child actors and performers are not subject to the FLSA’s child labor protections. Also, minimum age requirements do not apply to children employed by their parents. Finally, children engaged in the delivery of newspapers to the consumer are not subject to the FLSA’s child labor protections.
For questions regarding federal child labor laws, visit the U.S. Department of Labor's website at www.youthrules.dol.gov. You can also call the Midwestern Regional Office at (312) 596-7180 and ask to speak to the Child Labor Contact.
In addition to the federal law, each state has their own child labor laws. The Illinois Department of Labor’s website is www.state.il.us/agency/idol/. Their Child Labor Hotline is (800) 645-5784. If state law and the FLSA overlap, the law which is more protective of the minor will apply.
Rick Galbreath, SPHR, is president and founder of Performance Growth Partners Inc., a full service organizational improvement firm specializing in HR audits, corporate outplacement services, customer service assessments, customer service training, supervisory training, employee surveys, employee handbooks, teambuilding programs and team training, on-call and project-based HR consulting services, outsourced HR services, employee retention programs, performance improvement programs, executive coaching, manufacturing process and operations improvement consulting, training and programs, safety assessments, safety training, strategic planning, employee retention program, performance improvement programs, interim executive placement, conference speaking, keynote addresses, business turnaround consulting and a wide range of other services. Contact Rick toll-free at (877) 739-4747 or e-mail him at rick@performtogrow.com.
© 2008 Performance Growth Partners Inc.
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