(Revised July 2008) (PDF)
This fact
sheet provides general information concerning cooking and baking activities
under the federal youth employment provisions. For detailed information about
the federal youth employment provisions, please read Regulations, 29 CFR Part 570.
The Department of Labor is committed to helping young
workers find positive, appropriate and safe employment experiences. The youth
employment provisions of the FLSA
were enacted to ensure that when young people work, the work does not
jeopardize their health, well-being or educational opportunities.
Minimum Age Standards for Employment
The FLSA and the youth employment regulations, issued at 29 CFR Part 570,
establish both hours and occupational standards for
youth. Youth of any age are generally permitted to work for businesses entirely
owned by their parents, except those under 16 may not be employed in mining or
manufacturing and no one under 18 may be employed in any occupation the Secretary
of Labor has declared to be hazardous.
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18 Years of Age
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Once a youth
reaches 18 years of age, he or she is no longer subject to the federal youth
employment provisions.
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16 & 17 Years of Age
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Sixteen- and
17-year-olds may be employed for unlimited hours in any occupation other than
those declared hazardous by the Secretary of Labor. Examples of equipment
declared hazardous and often used by cooks and bakers include power-driven
meat processing machines (meat slicers, meat saws, patty-forming machines, meat
grinders, and meat choppers), commercial mixers and certain power-driven
bakery machines. Employees under 18 years of age are not permitted to
operate, feed, set-up, adjust, repair, or clean any of these machines.
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14 & 15 Years of Age
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Fourteen- and 15-
year-olds may be employed in food preparation, but they may not perform any
baking activities and only limited cooking tasks. There are also restrictions
on the number of hours and times of day that these minors may be employed.
See Fact Sheet No. 43
in this series (Youth
Employment Provisions for Nonagricultural Occupations) for information
about these hours standards. The rules regarding what cooking tasks 14- and
15-year-olds may legally perform were revised by the U. S. Department of
Labor, effective February 14, 2005. The following charts highlight the
changes in these rules.
Youth Employment Rules for
Cooking by 14- and 15-Year-Olds AFTER February 13, 2005
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Youth Employment Rules for
Cooking by 14- and 15-Year-Olds PRIOR to February 14, 2005
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Cooking by this
age group may be performed out of the view of the public.
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Cooking by this
age group had to be performed “in plain view” of the public.
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Fourteen- and
15-year-olds may perform only that cooking which involves the use of (1)
electric or gas grilles that do not entail cooking over an open flame, and
(2) deep fat fryers that are equipped with and utilize devices that
automatically lower and raise the baskets into and out of the oil or
grease.
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Fourteen- and
15-year-olds could only do light cooking, including using grilles and deep
fat fryers, that was performed in plain view of the public.
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This age group
may not cook with NEICO broilers, fryolators, rotisseries, or pressure
cookers.
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This age group
could not cook with NEICO broilers, fryolators, rotisseries, or pressure
cookers.
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Fourteen- and
15-year-olds may perform kitchen work and other work involved in preparing
and serving food and beverages, including the operation of machines and
devices used in the performance of such work, such as but not limited to
dish-washers, toasters, dumbwaiters, popcorn poppers, milk shake blenders,
coffee grinders, devices used to maintain the temperature of prepared foods
(such as warmers, steam tables, and heat lamps), and microwave ovens that
are used only to warm prepared food and do not have the capacity to warm
above 140° F.
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Fourteen- and
15-year-olds could perform kitchen work and other work involved in
preparing and serving food and beverages, including the operation of
machines and devices used in the performance of such work, such as but not
limited to dish-washers, toasters, dumbwaiters, popcorn poppers, milk shake
blenders, coffee grinders, devices used to maintain the temperature of prepared
foods (such as warmers, steam tables, and heat lamps), and microwave ovens
that are used only to warm prepared food and do not have the capacity to
warm above 140° F.
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This age group
is prohibited from operating, setting up, adjusting, cleaning, oiling, or
repairing power-driven food slicers and grinders, food choppers, and
cutters, and bakery type mixers.
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This age group
was prohibited from operating, setting up, adjusting, cleaning, oiling, or
repairing power-driven food slicers and grinders, food choppers, and
cutters, and bakery type mixers.
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Fourteen- and
15-year-olds are prohibited from performing any occupations declared
hazardous for workers 16 and 17 years of age (described above).
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Fourteen- and
15-year-olds were prohibited from performing any occupations declared
hazardous for workers 16 and 17 years of age (described above).
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This age group
may clean kitchen surfaces and non-power-driven kitchen equipment, but only
when the temperatures of the surfaces and equipment do not exceed 100°F.
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This age group
was prohibited from cleaning power-driven equipment.
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Fourteen- and
15-year-olds may filter, transport, and dispose of oil and grease, but only
if the temperature of such materials does not exceed 100°F.
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Fourteen- and
15-year-olds could filter, transport and dispose of oil and grease without
any restrictions./p>
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This age group
may not perform work in a freezer or meat cooler.
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This age group
was prohibited from performing work in a freezer or meat cooler.
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Youth Employment Rules for
Baking by 14- and 15-Year-Olds AFTER February 13, 2005
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Youth Employment Rules for
Baking 14- and 15-Year-Olds PRIOR to February 14, 2005
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Fourteen- and
15-year-olds may not be employed to perform any part of the baking process,
such as weighing and mixing ingredients; placing or assembling products in
pans or on trays; operating ovens, including convection ovens, microwave
ovens (except those used for warming food as described above), pizza ovens,
and automatic feeding ovens; removing items from ovens; placing items on
cooling trays; and finishing baked products.
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Fourteen- and
15-year-olds could not be employed to perform any part of the baking
process, such as weighing and mixing ingredients; placing or assembling
products in pans or on trays; operating ovens, including convection ovens,
microwave ovens (except those used for warming food as described above),
pizza ovens, and automatic feeding ovens; removing items from ovens;
placing items on cooling trays; and finishing baked products.
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Where to Obtain Additional Information
For more information on the FLSA youth employment
provisions, including a complete list of all hazardous occupation orders, visit
the YouthRules! Web site at www.youthrules.dol.gov.
For additional information on the Fair Labor Standards Act,
visit the Wage and Hour Division Web site: http://www.wagehour.dol.gov
and/or call our toll-free information and helpline,
available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in your time zone, 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243).
When state youth employment laws differ from the federal
provisions, an employer must comply with the higher standard. Links to
your state labor department can be found at www.dol.gov/contacts/state_of.htm.
This publication is for general information and is not to be
considered in the same light as official statements of position contained in
the regulations.
