The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division is offering this self-assessment tool to help employers comply with the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. It reflects what our experience has shown to be some of the most common problems encountered in your industry. You can use this tool to help evaluate your firm's level of compliance. You are not required to use this tool, but you may find it helpful in preventing problems and achieving compliance with the federal child labor provisions.
If you answer YES to any questions, you are likely out of compliance.
Do any young workers under the age of 18 do the following?
- If your answer is YES, then you are likely out of compliance. Minors under age 18 may not set up, operate, assist to operate, clean, oil, adjust, or repair, power driven meat processing equipment. This includes meat slicers, meat grinders, patty forming machines, meat and bone cutting saws, and food processors when used to process meats or poultry. Such minors may not hand wash the disassembled parts of power-driven meat processing machines. Such minors may, however, run a rack through an automatic dishwasher containing the disassembled parts of a power-driven meat process machine as long as the minor does not come in contact with those parts. See 29 CFR 570.61.
- If your answer is NO, then you are likely in compliance.
- If your answer is YES, then you are likely out of compliance. Minors under 18 generally may not set up, operate, assist to operate, clean, oil, adjust, or repair power driven bakery machines. This includes horizontal and vertical dough mixers (including countertop models), batter mixers, bread dividing, rounding, or molding machines, dough brakes, dough sheeters, cookie and cracker machines, and cake cutting bandsaws. A limited exemption does permit 16- and 17-year-olds to operate small capacity, portable, countertop mixers similar to the types used in private homes. See 29 CFR 570.62.
- If your answer is NO, then you are likely in compliance.
- If your answer is YES, then you are likely out of compliance. Minors under 18 generally may not load, operate, or unload balers and compactors-regardless of the materials being processed by the machines. A limited exemption does allow 16- and 17-year-olds to load—but not operate or unload—certain scrap paper balers and paper box compactors under specific conditions if the equipment meets certain safety standards, there is a posting to this effect on the machine, the on-off switch of the machine has a key-lock or other type of lock-out system, and the equipment can not be operated while it is being loaded. See 29 CFR 570.63 and Important Change in the Child Labor Laws Affecting Hazardous Occupations Order No. 12 and the Loading of Scrap Paper Balers and Paper Box Compactors.
- If your answer is NO, then you are likely in compliance.
- If your answer is YES, then you are likely out of compliance. Minors under 18 generally may not drive any type of motor vehicle or work as an outside helper on public roads or highways. This prohibition extends to the towing of vehicles and the driving of school buses and trucks. There is a limited exception to this provision that permits 17-year-olds to drive an automobile or truck (gross vehicle weight not exceeding 6,000 pounds) for limited periods of time when certain conditions are met. These conditions include that the minor possess a valid license, the driving is only during daylight hours, the driving does not involve urgent time sensitive deliveries such as delivering a pizza to a residence, and the driving is only occasional and incidental to their employment. There are additional requirements that also must be met. See 29 CFR 570.52 and Fact Sheet 34.
- If your answer is NO, then you are likely in compliance.
- If your answer is YES, then you are likely not in compliance. Minors under age 18 generally may not operate any power-driven hoisting equipment such as a forklift, forktruck, forklift truck, tiering truck, stacking truck, scissor lift, work assist platform, or a bobcat loader. Such youth are also prohibited from riding upon or working from such equipment. Lowlift trucks or lowlift platform trucks that are designed for the transporting, but not the tiering, of material are permitted. See 29 CFR 570.58.
- If your answer is NO, then you are likely in compliance.
Do any young workers under the age of 16 do the following?
- If your answer is YES, then you are likely out of compliance. Minors 14- and 15-years old may not perform work involving the operation of hoisting equipment (whether power-driven or not) or any power-driven equipment such as scissor lifts or motorized hand trucks. 29 CFR 570.33(c)
- If your answer is NO, then you are likely in compliance.
- If your answer is YES, then you are likely out of compliance. Minors 14- and 15-years old may not operate any power-driven machinery such as a Cart Caddy or a QuicKart. These machines are used by employees in retail stores and their parking lots to move large strings of shopping carts back to the front of the store. Minors 16 years of age and older may operate such equipment. See 29 CFR 570.33(e), FOH § 33c06(e)(5)
- If your answer is NO, then you are likely in compliance.
- If your answer is YES, then you are likely out of compliance. 14- and 15-years old may not load or unload goods to and from conveyors, trucks, railroad cars or tanks, trucks, boats, planes, or other means of transportation. See 29 CFR 570.33(k)
- If your answer is NO, then you are likely in compliance.
- If your answer is YES, you are likely out of compliance. Minors 14- and 15-years old are prohibited from working in freezers and meat coolers. This includes duties - such as taking inventory or performing cleanup work-which would require them to enter and remain in coolers or freezers for prolonged durations. These minors may enter freezers, but not meat coolers, momentarily to retrieve items for use outside the equipment. See 29 CFR 570.33(i), 29 CFR 570.34(i)
- If your answer is NO, you are likely in compliance.
- If your answer is YES, then you are likely out of compliance. Minors 14- and 15-years old may not operate, setup, adjust, repair, oil or clean power-driven food slicers, including bread slicers and bagel slicers. See 29 CFR 570.33(e), 29 CFR 530.33(e)
- If your answer is NO, then you are likely in compliance.
- If your answer is YES, then you are likely out of compliance. Minors 14 and 15-years old may not operate most power-driven machinery, including lawnmowers, trimmers, and “weed-whackers.” These minors may operate office machinery, vacuum cleaners, floor waxers, and machines and devices used in connection with preparing and serving food and beverages, such as dishwashers, toasters, popcorn poppers, milk shake blenders, and coffee grinders. See 29 CFR 570.33, 29 CFR 570.33(e), 29 CFR 570.34, 29 CFR 270.34(i)
- If your answer is NO, then you are likely in compliance.
- If your answer is YES, then you are likely out of compliance. Minors 14 and 15-years old may not perform work requiring the use of ladders, scaffolds, or their substitutes. This includes outside window washing that involves working from windowsills. See 29 CFR 570.33(g), 29 CFR 570.34.
- If your answer is NO, then you are likely in compliance.
- If your answer is YES, then you are likely out of compliance. 14- and 15-year-olds may clean, maintain (including the changing, cleaning, and disposing of oil or grease and oil or grease filters), and repair cooking devices (other than power-driven equipment) when the surfaces of the equipment or liquids do not exceed a temperature of 100° F. All minors under 18 years of age are prohibited from operating and cleaning power-driven meat slicers and bakery equipment. See 29 CFR 570.34(i), 29 CFR 570.33(h), 29 CFR 570.34(c), 29 CFR 570.34(i)
- If your answer is NO, then you are likely in compliance.
- If your answer is YES, then you are likely out of compliance. Minors 14- and 15-years old may not work more than 40 hours in a week when school is not in session. They may not work more than 18 hours in a week when school meets. For these purposes, school is in session in any week in which school meets, even if it meets for a part of a day or a portion of the week. School hours and school weeks are determined by the local public school the minor would attend if he or she attended public school. See 29 CFR 570.35
- If your answer is NO, then you are likely in compliance.
- If your answer is YES, then you are likely out of compliance. Minors 13 years of age and younger are generally not allowed to work under the Federal child labor provisions. Permissible employment for such minors is limited to work that is either exempt, such as delivering newspapers and acting, or not covered by the FLSA, such as casual babysitting, performing minor chores around private homes, and working for a parent who is the sole owner of a business. See 29 CFR 570.
- If your answer is NO, then you are likely in compliance.
- If you answer YES, then you are likely out of compliance. Employers are required to maintain and preserve certain records, including the date of birth for all employees who are less than 19 years of age. See 29 CFR 516.2(a)(3)
- If you answer NO, then you are likely in compliance.
This self-assessment tool is provided for your convenience.