Child Labor Law Summaries
10-1500Florida, Child Labor Law SummariesFlorida's child labor law is located in the Florida Statutes at Title XXXI, Chapter 450, Part I. Corresponding rules are located in the Florida Administrative Code at Title 38, Chapter 38H-14.
DEFINITIONS
"Employer" means any person, business, company, corporation, officer or director of a corporation, or general or limited partner of a business that employs a minor, or has control over the hours and/or working conditions of a minor (Fla AdminCodeAnn, Rule 38H-14.002).
"Employ" means put to use or service, engage the services of, or cause, permit, or suffer anyone to work (Fla AdminCodeAnn, Rule 38H-14.002).
"Child or minor" means any person 17 years of age or younger, unless (Sec. 450.012):
(1) the person is or has been married;
(2) the person's disability of nonage has been removed by a court of competent jurisdiction;
(3) the person is serving or has served in the Armed Forces of the United States;
(4) it has been found by a court having jurisdiction over the person that it is in the best interest of the minor to work and the court specifically approves any employment of the person, including the terms and conditions of the employment; or
(5) the person has graduated from an accredited high school or holds a high school equivalency diploma.
"Entertainment industry" means any group, entity, organization, or individual, in which the services of any minor are rendered in any capacity in conjunction with any motion picture, television, video, audio, theatrical, or still photography, using any format whether now existing or hereafter developed, including, but not limited to, theatrical film, commercial, documentary, television, radio, and/or cable, by any medium, whether now existing or hereafter developed, including theater, television, audiocassette, or videocassette; legitimate theaters or photography; recording; modeling; theatrical productions or publicity; rodeos; circuses; musical performances; or any other performances where minors perform (Sec. 450.012(5)).
COVERAGE
Florida's child labor law covers any person, business, company, corporation, officer or director of a corporation, or general or limited partner of a business that employs a minor, or has control over the hours and/or working conditions of a minor (Fla AdminCodeAnn, Rule 38H-14.002).
EXCEPTIONS
Hazardous occupations
The hazardous occupation prohibitions of Florida's child labor law generally do not apply to minors employed in the entertainment industry (Sec. 450.061(4)).
Partial waiver
In extenuating circumstances when it clearly appears to be in the best interest of the child, the Division of Jobs and Benefits of the Department of Labor and Employment Security or school district designee may grant a partial waiver of the restrictions imposed by Florida's child labor law on the employment of a child. Such waivers will be granted upon a case-by-case basis (Sec. 450.095 and Fla AdminCodeAnn, Rule 38H-14.007(1)).
Application for a partial waiver may be made by the minor, the minor's parent(s), guardians, or chaperon, or by employers of minors. The waiver must specify the restriction(s) waived, and is valid for a period specified on the partial waiver, not to exceed one year. Employers must keep a copy of any partial waiver granted in their file during the entire period of employment for which the partial waiver is applicable (Fla AdminCodeAnn, Rule 38H-14.007(1)).
Application for a partial waiver must be made by submitting to the division a completed Application for Waiver of Florida Child Labor Law, Form CLL-104 (Rev. 2/93). Applications must be filled out completely and must specify the provision or provisions of the child labor law or rules from which the partial waiver is sought. The applicant must provide supportive factual information and documentation to justify the partial waiver sought (Fla AdminCodeAnn, Rule 38H-14.007(2)).
In determining whether to grant a partial waiver, the division will consider all relevant information that may establish what is in the best interest of the minor, including school status; financial, medical or other hardship; or court order (Fla AdminCodeAnn, Rule 38H-14.007(3)).
Hours of work
The hours-of-work provisions of Sec. 450.081(1) --(4) do not apply to (Sec. 450.081(5), as amended by Ch. 103 (S. 440), L. 1997):
(1) minors 16 and 17 years of age who have graduated from high school or received a high school equivalency diploma.
(2) minors who are within the compulsory school attendance age limit who hold a valid certificate of exemption issued by the school superintendent or the superintendent's designee.
(3) minors enrolled in a public educational institution who qualify on a hardship basis, such as economic necessity or family emergency. Such determination will be made by the school superintendent or the superintendent's designee, and a waiver of hours will be issued to the minor and the employer.
(4) children in domestic service in private homes, children employed by their parents, or pages in the Florida Legislature.
Student learners
Exemptions for the employment of student learners 16 to 18 years of age are provided in Sec. 450.061 (see "Hazardous occupations"). Such an exemption applies when (Sec. 450.161, as amended by S. 2262, L. 1996):
(1) the student learner is enrolled in a youth vocational training program under a recognized state or local educational authority.
(2) such student learner is employed under a written agreement that provides (a) that the work of the student learner in the occupation declared particularly hazardous will be incidental to the training; (b) that such work will be intermittent and for short periods of time and under the direct and close supervision of a qualified and experienced person; (c) that safety instructions will be given by the school and correlated by the employer with on-the-job training; (d) that a schedule of organized and progressive work processes to be performed on the job will be prepared.
Each written agreement must contain the name of the student learner and must be signed by the employer, the school coordinator and principal, and the parent or legal guardian. Copies of each agreement must be kept on file by both the school and the employer. This exemption for the employment of student learners may be revoked in any individual situation when it is found that reasonable precautions have not been observed for the safety of minors. A high school graduate may be employed in an occupation in which he or she has completed training as a student learner, even though he or she is not yet 18 (Sec. 450.161, as amended by S. 2262, L. 1996).
Career education
Florida's child labor law does not prevent minors of any age from receiving career education furnished by the United States, the state of Florida, or any county or other political subdivision of Florida and duly approved by the Department of Education or other duly constituted authority, nor any apprentice from being indentured under a plan approved by the Division of Jobs and Benefits. Likewise, the law does not prevent the employment of any minor 14 years of age or older when such employment is authorized as an integral part of, or supplement to, such a course in career education and is authorized by regulations of the district school board of the district in which the minor is employed, provided the employment is in compliance with the provisions of Secs. 450.021(4) and 450.061 (Sec. 450.161, as amended by S. 2262, L. 1996).
WHAT THE EMPLOYER MUST DO
Florida's child labor law generally allows employers to employ minors over 13 years of age in nonhazardous occupations if certain hours of work restrictions are observed and proof of age is obtained by the employer.
Prohibited employment
With limited exceptions, no person 13 years of age or younger may be employed, permitted, or suffered to work in any gainful occupation at any time (Sec. 450.021).
Hazardous occupations --minors 15 and under. --No minor 15 years of age or younger, whether or not such person's disabilities of nonage have been removed by marriage or otherwise, may be employed or permitted or suffered to work in any of the following occupations (Sec. 450.061(1), as amended by S. 440, L. 1997):
(1) in connection with power-driven machinery, except power mowers with cutting blades 40 inches or less.
(2) in any manufacturing that makes or processes a product with the use of industrial machines.
(3) the manufacture, transportation, or use of explosive or highly flammable substances.
(4) sawmills or logging operations.
(5) on any scaffolding.
(6) in heavy work in the building trades.
(7) in the operation of a motor vehicle, except a motorscooter that the minor is licensed to operate, except that 14-year-old and 15-year-old workers may drive farm tractors in the course of their farmwork under the close supervision of their parents on a family-operated farm, and except that qualified 14-year-old and 15-year-old workers may drive tractors in the course of their farmwork under the close supervision of the farm operator.
(8) in oiling, cleaning, or wiping machinery or shafting or applying belts to pulleys.
(9) in repairing of elevators or other hoisting apparatus.
(10) work in freezers or meat coolers and all work in preparation of meats for sale, except wrapping, sealing, labeling, weighing, pricing, and stocking when performed in another area.
(11) in the operation of power-driven laundry or drycleaning machinery or any similar power-driven machinery.
(12) at spray painting.
(13) alligator wrestling work in connection with snake pits, or similar hazardous activities.
(14) door-to-door selling of magazine subscriptions, candy, cookies, flowers, or other merchandise or commodities, except merchandise of nonprofit organizations, such as the Girl Scouts of America or the Boy Scouts of America.
(15) in working with meat and vegetable slicing machines.
Hazardous occupations --minors under 18. --No minor under 18 years of age, whether such person's disabilities of nonage have been removed, may be employed or permitted or suffered to work in any of the following places of employment or in any of the following occupations, provided that the provisions of items (2), (5), (7), (8), (10), (13), (15), and (17) do not apply to the employment of student learners under the conditions prescribed in Sec. 450.161 (Sec. 450.061(2), as amended by S. 2262, L. 1996):
(1) in or around explosive or radioactive materials.
(2) on any scaffolding, roof, superstructure, residential or nonresidential building construction, or ladder above six feet.
(3) in or around toxic substances or corrosives, including pesticides or herbicides, unless proper field entry time allowances have been followed.
(4) any mining occupation.
(5) in the operation of power-driven woodworking machines.
(6) in the operation of power-driven hoisting apparatus.
(7) in the operation of power-driven metal forming, punching, or shearing machines.
(8) slaughtering, meat packing, processing, or rendering, except as provided in 29 C.F.R. part 570.61(c) (see COMPENSATION 5701 ).
(9) in the operation of power-driven bakery machinery.
(10) in the operation of power-driven paper products and printing machines.
(11) manufacturing brick, tile, and like products.
(12) wrecking or demolition.
(13) excavation operations.
(14) logging or sawmilling.
(15) working on electric apparatus or wiring.
(16) firefighting.
(17) operating or helping to operate, including starting, stopping, connecting or disconnecting, feeding, or any other activity involving physical contact associated with operating, a tractor over 20 PTO horsepower, any trencher or earthmoving equipment, fork lift, or any harvesting, planting, or plowing machinery, or any moving machinery.
Further, no minor under 18 years of age, whether such person's disabilities of nonage have been removed by marriage or otherwise, may be employed or permitted or suffered to work in any place of employment or at any occupation hazardous or injurious to the life, health, safety, or welfare of the minor, as such places of employment or occupations may be determined and declared by the Division of Jobs and Benefits of the Department of Labor and Employment Security to be hazardous and injurious to the life, health, safety, or welfare of the minor (Sec. 450.061(3)).
Hazardous occupations --minors under 16. --In addition to the hazardous occupations prohibited in Secs. 450.061(1) and (2) above, and in Rule 38H-14.005(2)(a) below, employers must not cause any minor under the age of 16 to work in the following occupations or places of employment, as they are defined or described in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (29 C.F.R. Part 570, Subpart C --see COMPENSATION 5671 et seq. ) (Fla AdminCodeAnn, Rule 38H-14.005(2)(b)):
(1) manufacturing, mining, or processing occupations, including occupations requiring the performance of any duties in work rooms or work places where goods are manufactured, mined or otherwise processed;
(2) occupations that involve the operation or tending of hoisting apparatus or of any power-driven machinery other than office machines;
(3) operation of a motor vehicle or service as a helper on motor vehicles;
(4) public messenger service;
(5) occupations in connection with (a) transportation of persons or property by rail, highway, air, water, pipeline, or other means; (b) warehousing and storage; (c) communications and electric utilities; and (d) construction (including demolition and repair);
(6) work performed in or about boiler or engine rooms;
(7) work in maintaining or repairing machines or equipment;
(8) outside window washing that involves working from window sills, and all work requiring the use of ladders, scaffolds, or their substitutes;
(9) cooking (except at soda fountains, lunch counters, snack bars, or cafeteria serving counters) and baking;
(10) operating, setting up, adjusting, cleaning, oiling, or repairing power-driven food slicers and grinders, food choppers and cutters, and bakery-type mixers;
(11) work in freezers and meat coolers and all work in the preparation of meats for sale except for wrapping, sealing, labeling, weighing, pricing and stocking in areas physically separate from freezers and coolers;
(12) loading and unloading goods to and from trucks, railroad cars, or conveyors;
(13) all occupations in warehouses except office and clerical work;
(14) occupations involved in agriculture as defined at 29 C.F.R. 570.71 (see COMPENSATION 5711 ).
Hazardous occupations for all minors. --In addition to the hazardous occupations prohibited in Sec. 450.061(2) above, employers must not cause any minor to work in the following occupations or places of employment as they are defined and described in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (29 C.F.R. Part 570, Subpart E --see COMPENSATION 5691 et seq. ) (Fla AdminCodeAnn, Rule 38H-14.005(2)(a)):
(1) occupations in or about plants or establishments manufacturing or storing explosives or articles containing explosive components;
(2) motor-vehicle driver and outside helper;
(3) occupations in connection with mining;
(4) logging occupations and occupations in the operation of any sawmill, lath mill, shingle mill, or cooperage stock mill;
(5) occupations involved in the operation of power-driven woodworking machines;
(6) occupations involving exposure to radioactive substances and to ionizing radiations;
(7) occupations involved in the operation of power-driven hoisting apparatus;
(8) occupations involved in the operation of power-driven metal forming, punching, and shearing machines;
(9) occupations involving slaughtering, meat packing or processing, or rendering;
(10) occupations involved in the operation of bakery machines;
(11) occupations involved in the operation of paper-products machines;
(12) occupations involved in the manufacture of brick, tile, and kindred products;
(13) occupations involved in the operations of circular saws, band saws, and guillotine shears;
(14) occupations involved in wrecking, demolitions, and shipbreaking operations;
(15) occupations in roofing operations; and
(16) occupations in excavation operations.
Compressed gasses. --Employers must not allow any minor to dispense, or to transport, service, modify or alter tanks, cylinders or other equipment used for storing, any inert or compound gas, including air, which has been compressed to a pressure that exceeds 40 pounds per square inch (psi), except that minors who are 16 years of age or older may fill balloons, and bicycle or car tires (but not trucks or heavy equipment), if given proper instruction and the tank or cylinder containing the compressed gas is fixed and secure (Fla AdminCodeAnn, Rule 38H-14.005(3)).
Newspaper sale and distribution. --No person 10 years of age or younger may engage in the sale and distribution of newspapers (Sec. 450.021).
Alcoholic beverages. --No person 17 years old or younger, whether or not such person's disabilities of nonage have been removed by marriage or otherwise, may be employed, permitted, or suffered to work in any place where alcoholic beverages are sold at retail, with limited exceptions (Sec. 450.021(4)).
Unless otherwise provided below, it is unlawful for any vendor licensed under the Beverage Law to employ any person under 18. This does not apply to (Sec. 562.13, as amended by S. 180 and S. 440, L. 1997):
(1) professional entertainers 17 years of age who are not in school.
(2) minors employed in the entertainment industry who have either been granted a waiver under Sec. 450.095 or employed under the terms of Sec. 450.132 or under rules adopted pursuant to either of those sections.
(3) persons under 18 who are employed in drugstores, grocery stores, department stores, florists, specialty gift shops, or automobile service stations that have obtained licenses to sell beer or beer and wine, when such sales are made for consumption off the premises.
(4) persons 17 years of age or over or any person furnishing evidence that he or she is a senior high school student with written permission of the principal of the school or that he or she is a senior high school graduate, or any high school graduate, employed by a bona fide food service establishment where alcoholic beverages are sold, provided such persons do not participate in the sale, preparation, or service of the beverages and that their duties are of such nature as to provide them with training and knowledge as might lead to further advancement in food service establishments.
(5) persons under 18 employed as bellhops, elevator boys, and others in hotels when such employees are engaged in work apart from the portion of the hotel property where alcoholic beverages are offered for sale for consumption on the premises.
(6) persons under 18 employed in bowling alleys in which alcoholic beverages are sold or consumed, so long as such minors do not participate in the sale, preparation, or service of such beverages.
(7) persons under 18 employed by a bona fide dinner theater, as long as their employment is limited to the services of an actor, actress, or musician.
(8) persons under 18 who are employed in places of business with a liquor license for consumption on the premises in a theme park complex, provided such persons do not participate in the sale, preparation, or service of alcoholic beverages and, effective July 1, 1997, provided the employment does not involve nudity on the part of the minor that is intended as a form of adult entertainment.
Permitted employment --specific occupations
Entertainment industry. --Children within the protection of Florida's child labor law may be employed by the entertainment industry in the production of motion pictures, legitimate plays, television shows, still photography, recording, publicity, musical and live performances, circuses, and rodeos, in any work not determined by the Division of Jobs and Benefits to be hazardous, or detrimental to their health, morals, education, or welfare (Sec. 450.132).
Domestic or farm work. --Minors of any age may be employed in domestic or farm work in connection with their own homes or the farm or ranch on which they live, or directly for their own parents or guardian, or in the herding, tending, and management of livestock, during the hours they are not required by law to be in school (Sec. 450.021).
Legislative pages. --Minors of any age may be employed as pages in the Florida Legislature (Sec. 450.021).
Door-to-door sales. --Door-to-door sales on behalf of nonprofit organizations are allowable for minors who are under the age of 16 years, but the organizations must ensure that such sales are undertaken under close supervision (Fla AdminCodeAnn, Rule 38H-14.005).
Hours of work
Minors 15 and under. --Minors 15 years of age or younger must not be employed, permitted, or suffered to work before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. when school is scheduled the following day or for more than 15 hours in any one week. On any school day,