 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
Department of Labor
Corey Connors, manager, government relations
The U.S. Department of Labor recently launched an initiative intended to increase the public’s awareness of federal and state rules concerning young workers. YouthRules! seeks to “promote positive and safe work experiences that help prepare young workers to enter the 21st century workforce.” After the program’s inception, IAAPA joined the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the National Restaurant Association, and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health as official partners of the YouthRules! program.
In this role, IAAPA is responsible for distributing informational materials about youth labor laws to amusement parks and attractions. Central to these materials is the “Employer’s Pocket Guide on Youth Employment,” which includes a brief summary of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a list of occupation and hourly restrictions for workers ages 14-17, and a safety checklist for employers of young workers. The pocket guide also shares some examples of best practices from various industries that legally employ minors and recommends additional resources that provide industry specific employment standards applicable to young workers.
The application of the FLSA to amusement parks and recreation establishments is described in a fact sheet produced by the Employment Standards Administration within the Department of Labor. The fact sheet identifies 17 Hazardous Occupations (HO) orders that restrict the types of jobs in which all minors might be employed. The secretary of labor identifies these HOs, and a few of these orders apply to amusement facility operations. Park and recreation facility employees under 18 are generally not permitted to operate or assist in the operation of certain power-driven woodworking, metalworking, bakery, meat processing, and paper products machinery (specifically meat slicers, paper box compactors, mixers, and saws); drive or serve as an outside helper on a motor vehicle on a public road (with an exemption for 17-year-olds who meet certain specific requirements); or operate power-driven hoists such as elevators, cranes, derricks, and high-lift trucks.
Beyond hazardous orders, the FLSA also explicates wage and hour restrictions for young workers. These child labor provisions apply differently to eligible minors ages 16 and 17 than they do to young employees who are 14 or 15. For example, 16- and 17-year-olds can work for an unlimited number of hours in any occupation not declared hazardous by the secretary of labor. It is the individual states that are responsible for restricting the number of hours and times of day that employees at that age are permitted to work. But the application of federal labor laws to 14- and 15-year-olds is quite different.
Workers aged 14 and 15 are permitted to be employed by parks and attractions, but only for certain periods of time and only in certain types of jobs. Those employees cannot work during normal school operating hours and are restricted by law to work only three hours on a school day and eight hours on a nonschool day. Employees at this age are also permitted to work a maximum of 18 hours during a week in which there is school, and a maximum of 40 hours during a nonschool week. From June 1 until Labor Day, young workers ages 14 and 15 are permitted to work between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., but only from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. for the remainder of the year.
These young workers are also restricted from several operations at parks and attractions, including work involving the operation or tending of any power-driven machinery and hoists, which includes most amusement park rides; all baking and most cooking; all work in construction (including demolition and repair); the use of ladders or scaffolding; and work in freezers, with an exception for entering freezers equipped with safety latches for brief periods of time to retrieve items.
To ensure that your facility is in compliance with federal child labor law, and to learn more about your state’s youth labor laws, please visit the YouthRules! web site at www.youthrules.dol.gov.
