Employers, Start Preparing for Teen Workers and Youth Employment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monrovia, California, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) May 2, 2011 -- With summer on the horizon, young workers will be entering the workforce at different ages, with different levels of experience. Employers are therefore encouraged to review applicable child labor laws, including the occupational restrictions that apply to jobs they offer to youths, and plan age and job-appropriate training. They should also expect that young workers may require more supervision than other workers, requiring a change in their supervisory routines.

Employers should also be aware that the federal child labor rules that previously applied to them may have changed. Last summer, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued a Final Rule that made substantial revisions to its child labor regulations designed to strengthen child labor laws to protect against workplace hazards in some industries, expand opportunities in others, and better reflect the modern workplace.

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes the minimum employment standards for child labor. State child labor laws may be more protective or less protective of working children than the federal child labor laws. For example, states may have different minimum ages for employment, different hours of work restrictions, and exclude teens from additional occupations. If a working child is protected by both federal and state child labor laws, then the more protective law is followed. Under federal law, the following restrictions apply:

Workers under 18 may not:

 Drive a motor vehicle on public streets as part of the job, or work as an outside helper on a motor vehicle
 Operate power-driven machinery
 Handle, serve, or sell alcoholic beverages
 Be exposed to radioactive substances or ionizing radiation
 Work in certain types of manufacturing, wrecking or demolition, excavation, logging or sawmills, roofing, mining, meat packing or process
 Mix, load, or apply Category I pesticides

For workers under age 16, the rules are more restrictive. They may not:
 Work in building or construction
 Work in manufacturing or food processing

 Do any baking or cooking on the job (except cooking at a serving counter)
 Do dry cleaning or work in a commercial laundry
 Work on a ladder or scaffold
 Work in a freezer or meat cooler
 Load or unload trucks, railroad cars, or conveyors
 Work in a warehouse, except in a clerical capacity
 Dispense gas or oil
 Clean, wash, or polish cars

State law may also require that employers obtain an employment/age certificate, impose additional record keeping requirements, and post a mandatory state child labor law notice. More information can be found at the DOL’s website, YouthRules! Contact Compliance Poster Company to find out if your state requires a child labor law poster in your workplace.

Compliance Poster Company manufactures and sells over 1,200 state & federal and OSHA labor law compliance posters, industry-specific posters, and human resources products. The company has been in business since 1989 and pioneered the first All-On-One™ labor law poster and Peel ‘N Post™ update overlay for sale to employers and agencies throughout the U.S. and Canada. CPC boasts among its business partners Fortune 500 companies and small businesses of every kind. CPC is located 438 W. Chestnut Avenue, Monrovia, CA 91016. For more information, call (800) 817-7678 or visit http://www.complianceposter.com.

Compliance Poster Company
Research Department, 800-817-7678
research@complianceposter.com

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