Child Labor Requirements

In Nonagricultural Occupations

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act 

CHILD LABOR BULLETIN 101

U. S. Department of Labor

Employment Standards Administration

Wage and Hour Division

WH-1330

Revised March 2001
The Department of Labor is providing this information 

as a public service. This information and related 

materials are presented to give the public access to 

information on Department of Labor programs. You 

should be aware that, while we try to keep the 

information timely and accurate, there will often be a 

delay between official publications of the materials and 

the modification of these pages. Therefore, we make no 

express or implied guarantees. The Federal Register and 

the Code of Federal Regulations remain the official 

source for regulatory information published by the 

Department of Labor. We will make every effort to 

correct errors brought to our attention. 

Material contained in this publication is in the public 

domain and may be reproduced, fully or partially, 

without permission of the Federal Government. Source 

credit is requested but not required. Permission is 

required only to reproduce any copyrighted material 

contained herein. 

This publication is available on the Internet on the Wage 

and Hour Division Home Page at the following address: 

http://www.wagehour.dol.gov/. 

This material may be obtained in alternative format 

(Large Print, Braille, Audio Tape or Disc), upon request, 

by calling: (202) 693-0023. 

TTY/TDD callers may dial toll-free 1-877-889-5627 to 

ask for information or request materials in alternative 

format. A customer service representative is available to 

assist you with referral information from 8am to 5pm in 

your own time zone. 

2
_______________________________________________________________________________

Contents 

Federal Child Labor Laws 1 

Coverage of the Child Labor Provisions 2 

Exemptions from the Child Labor Provisions 2 

Minimum Age Standards for Nonagricultural Employment 3 

Employment Standards for 14- and 15-Year-Olds 3 

Employment Standards for 16- and 17-Year-Olds 6 

Hazardous Occupations Orders for Nonagricultural Employment 6 

Exemptions from Certain HOs for Apprentices and Student-Learners 18 

Age Certificates 19 

Enforcement of the Federal Child Labor Provisions 19 

Penalties for Violation 19 

_______________________________________________________________________________ 

FEDERAL CHILD 

LABOR LAWS 

The Federal child labor 

provisions, authorized by 

the Fair Labor Standards 

Act (FLSA) of 1938, were 

enacted to ensure that when 

young people work, the 

work is safe and does not 

jeopardize their health, 

well-being or educational 

opportunities. By knowing, 

understanding and 

complying with these 

provisions, employers, 

parents, and teachers can 

help working teens enjoy 

those safe, positive, early 

work experiences that can 

be so important to their 

development. 

CHILD LABOR 

BULLETIN No. 101 

This booklet is a guide 

to the provisions of the 

FLSA (also known as the 

“Wage-Hour Law”) which 

applies to minors employed 

in nonagricultural 

occupations. In addition to 

child labor provisions, the 

FLSA contains provisions 

on minimum wage, 

overtime, and 

recordkeeping. 

See Child Labor 

Bulletin No. 102 for 

information regarding the 

employment of minors in 

agriculture. 

OTHER CHILD LABOR 

LAWS 

Other Federal and State 

laws may have higher 

standards. When these 

apply, the more stringent 

standard must be observed. 

All States have child labor 

laws, compulsory school 

attendance laws, and 

establish the minimum ages 

and conditions under which 

youths may operate motor 

vehicles. 

Unless otherwise 

exempt, a covered minor 

employee is entitled to 

receive the same minimum 

wage, overtime, occupational safety and health, 

and nondiscrimination 

protections as adult 

workers. 
Coverage of the Child Labor Provisions 

Who is Covered? 

Enterprise Coverage: 

All employees of certain enterprises having 

workers engaged in interstate commerce, producing 

goods for interstate commerce, or handling, selling, or 

otherwise working on goods or materials that have 

been moved in or produced for such commerce by any 

person are covered by the FLSA. A covered enterprise 

is the related activities performed through unified 

operation or common control by any person or persons 

for a common business purpose and: 

1. whose annual gross volume of sales made or 

business done is not less than $500,000 (exclusive 

of excise taxes at the retail level that are 

separately stated); or 

2. is engaged in the operation of a hospital, an 

institution primarily engaged in the care of those 

who are physically or mentally ill or disabled or 

aged, and who reside on the premises, a school for 

children who are mentally or physically disabled 

or gifted, a preschool, an elementary or secondary 

school, or an institution of higher education 

(whether operated for profit or not for profit); or 

3. is an activity of a public agency. 

Construction and laundry/dry cleaning enterprises, 

which were previously covered regardless of their 

annual dollar volume of business, are now subject to 

the $500,000 test. 

Any enterprise that was covered by the FLSA on 

March 31, 1990, and that ceased to be covered because 

of the increase in the enterprise coverage dollar 

volume test must continue to pay its employees not 

less than $3.35 an hour, and continues to be subject to 

the overtime pay, child labor, and recordkeeping 

provisions of the FLSA. 

Individual Coverage: 

Employees of firms which are not covered 

enterprises under the FLSA may still be subject to its 

minimum wage, overtime, and child labor provisions if 

they are individually engaged in interstate commerce 

or in the production of goods for interstate commerce. 

Such employees include those who: work in 

communications or transportation; regularly use the 

mail, telephone, computer e-mail system and/or 

facsimile machine to communicate with persons in 

another State; make deposits in banks; use an 

electronic device which authorizes a credit card 

purchase; keep records of interstate transactions; 

handle, ship, or receive goods moving in interstate 

commerce; regularly cross State lines in the course of 

employment; or work for independent employers who 

contract to do clerical, custodial, maintenance, or other 

work for firms engaged in interstate commerce or the 

production of goods for interstate commerce. 

Young entrepreneurs who use the family lawnmower 

to cut their neighbor’s grass or perform babysitting on 

a casual basis are not covered under the FLSA. 

The Federal Child Labor Provisions 

Do Not: 

• require minors to obtain “working papers” or 

“work permits,” though many States do; 

• limit the number of hours or times of day that 

workers 16 years of age and older may legally 

work, though many States do; 

• apply to any employee whose services during the 

workweek are performed in a workplace within a 

foreign country or within a territory named in 

section 13(f) of the FLSA. 

Check with the applicable State Department of 

Labor for guidance concerning State laws. 

Exemptions from the Child Labor 

Provisions of the FLSA 

The child labor provisions do not apply to: 

• Children under 16 years of age employed by their 

parents in occupations other than manufacturing 

or mining, or occupations declared hazardous by 

the Secretary of Labor. 

• Children employed as actors or performers in 

motion pictures, theatrical, radio or television 

productions. 

• Children engaged in the delivery of newspapers to 

the consumer. 

• Homeworkers engaged in the making of wreaths 

composed principally of natural holly, pine, cedar, 

or other evergreens (including the harvesting of 

the evergreens). 

2
Minimum Age Standards for 

Nonagricultural Employment 

14 Minimum age for employment in specified 

occupations outside of school hours for limited 

periods of time each day and each week. 

16 BASIC MINIMUM AGE FOR EMPLOYMENT. 

At 16 years of age, youth may be employed for 

unlimited hours in any occupation other than one 

declared to be hazardous by the Secretary of 

Labor. 

18 Minimum age for employment in nonagricultural 

occupations declared hazardous by the Secretary 

of Labor. 

Wage Payments to Young Workers 

Unless otherwise exempt or employed under 

conditions discussed below, covered minor employees 

must be paid at least the statutory minimum wage for 

all hours worked. 

Employees under 20 years of age may be paid $4.25 

per hour during their first consecutive 90 calendar days 

of employment with an employer. 

Certain full-time students, student learners, 

apprentices and workers with disabilities may be paid 

less than the minimum wage under special certificates 

issued by the Department of Labor. 

Employers of “tipped employees” must pay a cash 

wage of at least $2.13 per hour if they claim a tip 

credit against their minimum wage obligations. If an 

employee’s tips combined with the employer’s cash 

wage of at least $2.13 do not equal the minimum 

hourly wage, the employer must make up the 

difference. 

Employment Standards for 14- and 15-

Year-Olds in Nonagricultural 

Employment 

These requirements are published in Subpart C of Part 570 of 

Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Child Labor 

Regulation No. 3. 

Employment of youths of this age group is limited to 

certain occupations and under conditions that do not 

interfere with their schooling, health or well-being. 

Hours-Time Standards 

for 14- and 15-Year-Olds 

14- AND 15-YEAR-OLDS MAY NOT BE 

EMPLOYED: 

1. DURING SCHOOL HOURS, except as provided 

in Work Experience and Career Exploration ∗ Programs. 

2. BEFORE 7 a.m. or AFTER 7 p.m. except from 

June 1 through Labor Day when the evening hour 

is extended to 9 p.m. (time is based on local 

standards; i.e., whether the locality has adopted 

daylight savings time). 

3. MORE THAN 3 HOURS A DAY ON A 

SCHOOL DAY, INCLUDING FRIDAYS. 

4. MORE THAN 8 HOURS A DAY ON A 

NONSCHOOL DAY. 

5. MORE THAN 18 HOURS A WEEK DURING A 

SCHOOL WEEK. 

6. MORE THAN 40 HOURS A WEEK DURING 

NONSCHOOL WEEKS. 

Limited exemption for professional sports 

attendants: 

Section 570.35(b) of Regulations 29 CFR Part 570 

grants a partial waiver from the hours standards 

limitations for 14- and 15-year-olds who are employed 

as professional sports attendants and performing the 

traditional duties of that position. These minors are 

still precluded from working during school hours. 

*“School hours” are determined by the local public school in the area 

the minor is residing while employed – this is true even if the minor 

does not attend the public school (i.e., attends a private school or is 

home schooled). Special provisions apply to students participating in 

a State sponsored Work Experience and Career Exploration Program 

authorized by the Department of Labor in accordance with section 

570.35a of Regulations 29 CFR Part 570. See Page 5 of this bulletin 

for more information. 

3
Occupation Standards 

for 14- and 15-Year-Olds 

Fourteen- and 15-Year-Olds May Not 

Be Employed in: 

1. Any MANUFACTURING occupation. 

2. Any MINING occupation. 

3. Most PROCESSING occupations such as filleting 

of fish, dressing poultry, cracking nuts, laundering 

as performed by commercial laundries, bulk or 

mass mailings (except certain occupations 

expressly permitted in retail, food service and 

gasoline service establishments as discussed 

below). 

4. Occupations requiring the performance of any 

duties in WORKROOMS or WORKPLACES 

WHERE GOODS ARE MANUFACTURED, 

MINED OR OTHERWISE PROCESSED (except 

to the extent expressly permitted in retail, food 

service, or gasoline service establishments as 

discussed below). 

5. PUBLIC MESSENGER SERVICE. 

6. OPERATION OR TENDING OF HOISTING 

APPARATUS or of ANY POWER-DRIVEN 

MACHINERY, including lawnmowers, trimmers, 

and “weedwhackers,” but not including office 

machinery and those machines in retail, food 

service and gasoline service establishments that 

are expressly permitted and discussed below. 

7. ANY OCCUPATION FOUND AND 

DECLARED TO BE HAZARDOUS BY THE 

SECRETARY OF LABOR (see Page 6). 

8. OCCUPATIONS IN CONNECTION WITH: 

a. TRANSPORTATION of persons or property 

by rail, highway, air, on water, pipeline, or 

other means. 

b. WAREHOUSING and STORAGE. 

c. COMMUNICATIONS and PUBLIC 

UTILITIES. 

d. CONSTRUCTION (including repair). 

Except office or sales work in connection 

with a., b., c., and d. above when not 

performed on transportation media or at the 

actual construction site. 

Employment of 14- and 15-Year-Olds in 

Retail, Food Service, and Gasoline Service 

Establishments 

Special provisions apply to 14- and 15-year-olds 

employed in Retail, Food Service, and Gasoline 

Service Establishments. 

Fourteen- and 15-year-olds MAY be employed to 

perform the following in Retail, Food Service, and 

Gasoline Service Establishments: 

1. OFFICE and CLERICAL WORK, including 

operation of office machines. 

2. CASHIERING, SELLING, MODELING, ART 

WORK, WORK IN ADVERTISING 

DEPARTMENTS, WINDOW TRIMMING and 

COMPARATIVE SHOPPING. 

3. PRICE MARKING and TAGGING by hand or by 

machine. ASSEMBLING ORDERS, PACKING 

and SHELVING. 

4. BAGGING and CARRYING OUT CUSTOMER 

ORDERS. 

5. ERRAND and DELIVERY WORK by foot, 

bicycle, and public transportation. 

6. CLEANUP WORK, including the use of vacuum 

cleaners and floor waxers, and MAINTENANCE 

of GROUNDS, but not including use of powerdriven mowers or cutters. 

7. 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, dishwashers, toasters, dumbwaiters, 

popcorn poppers, milk shake blenders, and coffee 

grinders. 

8. WORK IN CONNECTION WITH CARS AND 

TRUCKS if confined to the following: 

- Dispensing gasoline and oil. 

- Courtesy service on premises of gasoline 

service station. 

- Car cleaning, washing, and polishing. 

- Other occupations permitted by this section. 

BUT NOT INCLUDING WORK involving the use 

of pits, racks or lifting apparatus or involving the 

inflation of any tire mounted on a rim equipped 

with a removable retaining ring. 

9. CLEANING VEGETABLES and FRUITS, and 

WRAPPING, SEALING, LABELING, 

WEIGHING, PRICING, and STOCKING 

GOODS when performed in areas physically 

separate from areas where meat is prepared for 

sale and outside of freezers and meat coolers. 

4
Fourteen- and 15-year-old employees MAY NOT 

be employed to perform the following in Retail, 

Food Service, and Gasoline Service Establishments: 

1. Work performed IN or ABOUT BOILER or 

ENGINE ROOMS. 

2. Work in connection with MAINTENANCE or 

REPAIR OF THE ESTABLISHMENT, 

MACHINES, or EQUIPMENT. 

3. OUTSIDE WINDOW WASHING that involves 

working from windowsills, and all work requiring 

the use of LADDERS, SCAFFOLDS, or their 

substitutes. 

4. COOKING (except at soda fountains, lunch 

counters, snack bars, or cafeteria service counters) 

and BAKING. 

5. Occupations which involve OPERATING, 

SETTING UP, ADJUSTING, CLEANING, 

OILING, or REPAIRING power-driven FOOD 

SLICERS and GRINDERS, FOOD CHOPPERS 

and CUTTERS, and BAKERY-TYPE MIXERS. 

6. Work in FREEZERS and MEAT COOLERS and 

all work in PREPARATION OF MEATS FOR 

SALE (except wrapping, sealing, labeling, 

weighing, pricing, and stocking when performed 

in other areas). 

7. LOADING and UNLOADING GOODS to and 

from trucks, railroad cars, or conveyors. 

8. All occupations in WAREHOUSES except office 

and clerical work. 

Work Experience and Career Exploration 

Programs (WECEP) 

Some of the provisions of Child Labor Regulation 

No. 3 are varied for 14- and 15-year-old participants in 

approved school-supervised and school- administered 

WECEPs. Enrollees in WECEP may be employed: 

- During school hours. 

- For as many as 3 hours on a school day, including 

Fridays. 

- For as many as 23 hours in a school week. 

- In occupations otherwise prohibited but only after 

a specific variance has been granted by the 

Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division. 

The State Educational Agency must obtain 

approval from the Administrator of the Wage and 

Hour Division before operating a WECEP program. 

5
Employment Standards For 16- and 17-Year-Olds 

in Nonagricultural Employment 

The Hazardous Occupations Orders for 

Nonagricultural Employment (HOs) 

These Orders are published in Subpart E of Part 570 of 

Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations. 

The FLSA provides a minimum age of 18 years for 

any nonagricultural occupations which the Secretary of 

Labor “shall find and by order declare” to be 

particularly hazardous for 16- and 17-year-old persons, 

or detrimental to their health and well-being. This 

minimum age applies even when the minor is 

employed by the parent or person standing in place of 

the parent. 

The 17 HOs apply either on an industry basis, 

specifying the occupations in the industry that are not 

permitted, or an occupational basis irrespective of the 

industry in which found. 

HO 1 Manufacturing and storing of explosives.

HO 2 Motor-vehicle driving and outside helper on a

motor vehicle. 

HO 3 Coal mining. 

HO 4 Logging and sawmilling. 

HO 5* Power-driven woodworking machines. 

HO 6 Exposure to radioactive substances. 

HO 7 Power-driven hoisting apparatus, including 

forklifts. 

HO 8* Power-driven metal-forming, punching, and 

shearing machines. 

HO 9 Mining, other than coal mining. 

HO 10* Operating power-driven meat processing 

equipment, including meat slicers and other 

food slicers, in retail establishments (such as 

grocery stores, restaurants, kitchens and 

delis), wholesale establishments, and most 

occupations in meat slaughtering, packing, 

processing, or rendering. 

HO 11 Power-driven bakery machines including 

vertical dough or batter mixers. 

HO 12* Power-driven paper-products machines 

including scrap paper balers and cardboard 

box compactors. 

HO 13 Manufacturing bricks, tile, and kindred 

products. 

HO 14* Power-driven circular saws, bandsaws, and 

guillotine shears. 

HO 15 Wrecking, demolition, and shipbreaking 

operations. 

HO 16* Roofing operations. 

HO 17 * Excavation operations. 

*These HOs provide limited exemptions for 16- and 

17-year-olds who are bona-fide student-learners and 

apprentices. See Page 18 for more information. 

. 

6
HO 1 - Manufacturing or Storage 

Occupations Involving Explosives 

The following occupations in or about plants or 

establishments manufacturing or storing explosives or 

articles containing explosive components are 

prohibited: 

1. All occupations in or about any plant or 

establishment (other than retail establishments or 

plants or establishments of the type described in 

subparagraph 2. below) manufacturing or storing 

explosives or articles containing explosive 

components except where the occupation is 

performed in a “nonexplosives area” as defined in 

subparagraph 3. below. 

2. The following occupations in or about any plant 

or establishment manufacturing or storing small 

arms ammunition not exceeding .60 caliber in 

size, shotgun shells, or blasting caps when 

manufactured or stored in conjunction with the 

manufacture of small arms ammunition: 

a. All occupations involved in the 

manufacturing, mixing, transporting, or 

handling of explosive compounds in the 

manufacture of small arms ammunition and 

all other occupations requiring the 

performance of any duties in the explosives 

area in which explosive compounds are 

manufactured or mixed. 

b. All occupations involving the manufacturing, 

transporting, or handling of primers and all 

other occupations requiring the performance 

of any duties in the same building in which 

primers are manufactured. 

c. All occupations involved in the priming of 

cartridges and all other occupations requiring 

the performance of any duties in the same 

workroom in which rimfire cartridges are 

primed. 

d. All occupations involved in the plate loading 

of cartridges and in the operation of 

automatic loading machines. 

e. All occupations involved in the loading, 

inspecting, packing, shipping, and storage of 

blasting caps. 

Definitions 

1. The term plant or establishment manufacturing or 

storing explosives or articles containing explosive 

components means the land with all the buildings 

and other structures thereon used in connection 

with the manufacturing or processing or storing of 

explosives or articles containing explosive 

components. 

2. The terms explosives and articles containing 

explosive components mean and include 

ammunition, black powder, blasting caps, 

fireworks, high explosives, primers, smokeless 

powder, and all goods classified and defined as 

explosives by the Interstate Commerce 

Commission in regulations for the transportation 

of explosives and other dangerous substances by 

common carriers (49 CFR Parts 71-78) issued 

pursuant to the Act of June 25, 1948 (62 Stat. 739: 

18 U.S.C. 835). 

3. An area meeting the following criteria shall be 

deemed a nonexplosives area: 

a. None of the work performed in the area 

involves the handling or use of explosives; 

b. The area is separated from the explosives 

area by a distance not less than that 

prescribed in the American Table of 

Distances for the protection of inhabited 

buildings; 

c. The area is separated from the explosives 

area by a fence or is otherwise located so that 

it constitutes a definite designated area; and 

d. Satisfactory controls have been established to 

prevent employees under 18 years of age 

within the area from entering any area in or 

about the plant which does not meet criteria a 

through c. 

HO 2 – Motor-Vehicle Occupations 

The occupation of motor-vehicle driver and outside 

helper on any public road, highway, in or about any 

mine (including open pit mine or quarry), place where 

logging or sawmill operations are in progress, or in 

any excavation of the type identified in HO 17 are 

prohibited for minors between 16 and 18 years of age 

except that 17-year-olds may drive automobiles and 

trucks on an incidental and occasional basis if all of the 

criteria listed in the following exemption are met. 

Exemption 

Limited exemption from HO 2 for 17 year old 

employees: 

Seventeen-year-olds, but no one under 17 years of 

age, may drive automobiles and trucks on public roads 

as part of their employment on an occasional and 

incidental basis if all the following requirements are 

met: 

7
• the automobile or truck does not exceed 6,000 

pounds gross vehicle weight; 

• the driving is limited to daylight hours; 

• the 17-year-old holds a State license valid for 

the type of driving involved; 

• the 17-year-old has successfully completed a 

State-approved driver education course and 

has no record of any moving violations at the 

time of hire; 

• the automobile or truck is equipped with a seat 

belt for the driver and any passengers and the 

employer has instructed the youth that the seat 

belts must be used when driving the vehicle; 

• the driving may not involve: 

- towing vehicles; 

- route deliveries or route sales; 

- transportation for hire of property, goods, 

or passengers; 

- urgent, time-sensitive deliveries; 

- transporting more than three passengers, 

including employees of the employer; 

- driving beyond a 30 mile radius from the 

youth's place of employment; 

- more than two trips away from the 

primary place of employment in any 

single day to deliver the employer’s 

goods to a customer (other than urgent, 

time-sensitive deliveries which are 

prohibited); 

- more than two trips away from the 

primary place of employment in any 

single day to transport passengers, other 

than employees of the employer. 

Definitions 

1. The term motor vehicle shall mean any 

automobile, truck, truck tractor, trailer, 

semitrailer, motorcycle, or similar vehicle 

propelled or drawn by mechanical power and 

designed for use as a means of transportation but 

shall not include any vehicle operated exclusively 

on rails. 

2. The term driver shall mean any individual who in 

the course of employment, drives a motor vehicle 

at any time. 

3. The term outside helper shall mean any 

individual, other than a driver, whose work 

includes riding on a motor vehicle outside the cab 

for the purpose of assisting in transporting or 

delivering goods. 

4. The term gross vehicle weight includes the truck 

chassis with lubricants, water, and full tank or 

tanks of fuel, plus the weight of the cab or driver’s 

compartment, body, and special chassis and body 

equipment, and payload. 

5. The term urgent, time-sensitive deliveries shall 

mean trips which, because of such factors as 

customer satisfaction, the rapid deterioration of 

the quality or change in temperature of the 

product, and/or economic incentives, are subject 

to timelines, schedules, and/or turnaround times 

which might impel the driver to hurry in the 

completion of the delivery. Prohibited trips would 

include, but are not limited to, the delivery of 

pizzas and prepared foods to the customer; the 

delivery of materials under a deadline (such as 

deposits to a bank at closing); and the shuttling of 

passengers to and from transportation depots to 

meet transport schedules. Urgent, time-sensitive 

deliveries do not depend on the delivery's points 

of origin and termination, and include the delivery 

of people and things to the employer’s place of 

business as well as from that business to some 

other location. 

6. The term occasional and incidental shall mean no 

more than one-third of the 17-year-old driver’s 

worktime in any workday and no more than 20 

percent of the 17-year-old driver’s worktime in 

any workweek. 

HO 3 - Coal Mining Occupations 

All occupations in or about any coal mine are 

prohibited except the occupations of slate or other 

refuse picking at a picking table or picking chute in a 

tipple or breaker and occupations requiring the 

performance of duties solely in offices or in repair or 

maintenance shops located in the surface part of any 

coal mining plant. 

Definitions 

1. The term coal shall mean any rank of coal, 

including lignite, bituminous, and anthracite coals. 

2. The term all occupations in or about any coal 

mine shall mean all types of work performed in 

any underground working, open pit, or surface 

part of any coal mining plant that contributes to 

the extraction, grading, cleaning, or other handling 

of coal. 

8
HO 4 - Logging and Sawmilling 

Occupations 

All occupations in logging and all occupations in 

the operation of any sawmill, lath mill, shingle mill, or 

cooperage-stock mill are prohibited except the 

following: 

1. Exceptions applying to logging: 

a. Work in offices or in repair or maintenance 

shops. 

b. Work in the construction, operation, repair, or 

maintenance of living and administrative 

quarters of logging camps. 

c. Work in timber cruising, surveying, or 

logging-engineering parties; work in the 

repair or maintenance of roads, railroads, or 

flumes; work in forest protection, such as 

clearing fire trails or roads, piling and 

burning slash, maintaining firefighting 

equipment, constructing and maintaining 

telephone lines, or acting as fire lookout or 

fire patrolman away from the actual logging 

operations – Provided, that the provisions of 

this paragraph shall not apply to the felling or 

bucking of timber, the collecting or 

transporting of logs, the operation of powerdriven machinery, the handling or use of 

explosives, and work on trestles. 

d. Peeling of fenceposts, pulpwood, chemical 

wood, excelsior wood, cordwood, or similar 

products, when not done in conjunction with 

and at the same time and place as other 

logging occupations declared hazardous by 

this section. 

e. Work in the feeding or care of animals. 

2. Exceptions applying to the operation of any 

permanent sawmill or the operation of any lath 

mill, shingle mill, or cooperage-stock mill – 

Provided, that these exceptions do not apply to a 

portable sawmill the lumber yard of which is used 

only for the temporary storage of green lumber 

and in connection with which no office or repair 

or maintenance shop is ordinarily maintained; and 

Further Provided, that these exceptions do not 

apply to work which entails entering the sawmill 

building: 

a. Work in offices or in repair or maintenance 

shops. 

b. Straightening, marking, or tallying lumber on 

the dry chain or the dry drop sorter. 

c. Pulling lumber from the dry chain. 

d. Cleanup in the lumberyard. 

e. Piling, handling, or shipping of cooperage 

stock in yards or storage sheds, other than 

operating or assisting in the operation of 

power-driven equipment. 

f. Clerical work in yards or shipping sheds, 

such as done by ordermen, tallymen, and 

shipping clerks. 

g. Cleanup work outside shake and shingle 

mills, except when the mill is in operation. 

h. Splitting shakes manually from pre-cut and 

split blocks with a froe and mallet, except 

inside the mill building or cover. 

i. Packing shakes into bundles when done in 

conjunction with splitting shakes manually 

with a froe and mallet, except inside the mill 

building or cover. 

j. Manual loading of bundles of shingles or 

shakes into trucks or railroad cars – Provided 

that the employer has on file a statement from 

a licensed doctor of medicine or osteopathy 

certifying the minor capable of performing 

this work without injury to himself or herself. 

Definitions 

1. The term all occupations in logging shall mean all 

work performed in conjunction with the felling of 

timber, the bucking or converting of timber into 

logs, poles, piles, ties, bolts, pulpwood, chemical 

wood, excelsior wood, cordwood, fenceposts, or 

similar products; the collecting, skidding, yarding, 

loading, transporting, and unloading of such 

products in conjunction with logging; the 

constructing, repairing, and maintaining of roads, 

railroads, flumes, or camps used in connection 

with logging; the moving, installing, rigging, and 

maintenance of machinery or equipment used in 

logging; and other work performed in connection 

with logging. The term shall not apply to work 

performed in timber culture, timber stand 

improvement, or in emergency firefighting. 

2. The term all occupations in the operation of any 

sawmill, lath mill, shingle mill, or cooperagestock mill shall mean all work performed in or 

about any such mill in connection with storing of 

logs and bolts; converting logs or bolts into sawn 

lumber, laths, shingles, or cooperage stock, or 

other products of such mills; and other work 

performed in connection with the operation of any 

sawmill, lath mill, shingle mill, or cooperagestock mill. The term shall not include work 

performed in the planing-mill department or other 

remanufacturing department of any sawmill, or in 

any planing-mill or remanufacturing plant not a 

part of a sawmill. 

9
HO 5 - Power-Driven Woodworking 

Machine Occupations 

The following occupations involved in the 

operation of power-driven woodworking machines are 

prohibited: 

1. The occupation of operating power-driven 

woodworking machines including supervising or 

controlling the operation of such machines, 

feeding material into such machines, and helping 

the operator to feed material into such machines, 

but not including the placing of material on a 

moving chain or in a hopper or slide for automatic 

feeding. 

2. The occupations of setting up, adjusting, 

repairing, oiling, or cleaning power-driven 

woodworking machines. 

3. The operations of off-bearing from circular saws 

and from guillotine-action veneer clippers. 

Exemption 

The exemption for student-learners and apprentices 

applies to HO 5. 

Definitions 

1. The term power-driven woodworking machines 

shall mean all fixed or portable machines or tools 

driven by power and used or designed for cutting, 

shaping, forming, surfacing, nailing, stapling, 

wire-stitching, fastening, or otherwise assembling, 

pressing, or printing wood or veneer. 

2. The term off-bearing shall mean the removal of 

material or refuse directly from a saw table or 

from the point of operation. Operations not 

considered as off-bearing within the intent of this 

section include: 

a. the removal of material or refuse from a 

circular saw or guillotine-action veneer 

clipper where the material or refuse has been 

conveyed away from the saw table or point of 

operation by a gravity chute or by some 

mechanical means such as a moving belt or 

expulsion roller, and 

b. the following operations when they do not 

involve the removal of material or refuse 

directly from a saw table or from a point of 

operation: 

- the carrying or moving or transporting of 

materials from one machine to another or 

from one part of a plant to another; 

- the piling stacking or arranging of 

materials for feeding into a machine by 

another person; and, 

- the sorting, tying, bundling, or loading of 

materials. 

HO 6 - Occupations Involving Exposure to 

Radioactive Substances and to Ionizing 

Radiation 

The following occupations are prohibited: 

1. Any work in any workroom in which: 

a. radium is stored or used in the 

manufacture of self-luminous compound; 

b. self-luminous compound is made, 

processed, or packaged; 

c. self-luminous compound is stored, used, or 

worked upon; 

d. incandescent mantles are made from fabric 

and solutions containing thorium salts, or 

are processed or packaged; 

e. other radioactive substances are present in 

the air in average concentrations exceeding 

10 percent of the maximum permissible 

concentrations in the air recommended for 

occupations exposure by the National 

Committee on Radiation Protection, as set 

forth in the 40-hour week column of Table 

One of the National Bureau of Standards 

Handbook No. 69 entitled Maximum 

Permissible Body Burdens and Maximum 

Permissible Concentrations of 

Radionuclides in Air and In Water for 

Occupational Exposure issued June 5, 

1959. 

2. Any other work which involves exposure to 

ionizing radiations in excess of 0.5 rem per year. 

Definitions 

1. The term self-luminous compound shall mean any 

mixture of phosphorescent material and radium, 

mesothorium, or other radioactive element. 

2. The term workroom shall include the entire area 

bounded by walls of solid material and extending 

from floor to ceiling. 

3. The term ionizing radiations shall mean alpha and 

beta particles, electrons, protons, neutrons, 

gamma, and x-ray and all other radiations which 

produce ionizations directly or indirectly, but does 

not include electromagnetic radiations other than 

gamma and X-ray. 

10
HO 7 - Power-Driven Hoisting Apparatus 

Occupations 

The following occupations involved in the 

operation of power-driven hoisting apparatus are 

prohibited: 

1. Work of operating an elevator, crane, derrick, 

hoist, or highlift truck (including a forklift), except 

operating an unattended automatic elevator or an 

electric or air-operated hoist not exceeding one 

ton capacity. 

2. Work which involves riding on a manlift or on a 

freight elevator, except a freight elevator operated 

by an assigned operator. 

3. Work of assisting in the operation of a crane, 

derrick, or hoist performed by crane hookers, 

crane chasers, hookers-on, riggers, rigger helpers, 

and like occupations. 

Exemption 

This section shall not prohibit the operation of an 

automatic elevator and an automatic signal operation 

elevator provided that the exposed portion of the car 

interior (exclusive of vents and other necessary small 

openings), the car door, and the hoistway doors are 

constructed of solid surfaces without any opening 

through which a part of the body may extend; all 

hoistway openings at floor level have doors which are 

interlocked with the car door so as to prevent the car 

from starting until all such doors are closed and 

locked; the elevator (other than hydraulic elevators) is 

equipped with a device which will stop and hold the 

car in case of overspeed or if the cable slackens or 

breaks; and the elevator is equipped with upper and 

lower travel limit devices which will normally bring 

the car to rest at either terminal and a final limit switch 

which will prevent the movement in either direction 

and will open in case of excessive overtravel by the ∗ car. 

Definitions 

1. The term elevator shall mean any power-driven 

∗ For purposes of this exception the term automatic elevator shall 

mean a passenger elevator, a freight elevator or a combination 

passenger-freight elevator, the operation of which is controlled by 

pushbuttons in such a manner that the starting, going to the landing 

selected, leveling and holding, and the opening and closing of the car 

and hoistway doors are entirely automatic. The term automatic 

signal operation elevator shall mean an elevator which is started in 

response to the operation of a switch (such as a lever or pushbutton) 

in the car which when operated by the operator actuates a starting 

device that automatically closes the car and hoistway doors – from 

this point on, the movement of the car to the landing selected, 

leveling and holding when it gets there, and the opening of the car 

and hoistway doors are entirely automatic. 

hoisting or lowering mechanism equipped with a 

car or platform which moves in guides in a 

substantially vertical direction. The term shall 

include both passenger and freight elevators 

(including portable elevators or tiering machines) 

but shall not include dumbwaiters. 

2. The term crane shall mean a power-driven 

machine for lifting and lowering a load and 

moving it horizontally, in which the hoisting 

mechanism is an integral part of the machine. The 

term shall include all types of cranes, such as 

cantilever gantry, crawler, gantry, hammerhead, 

ingotpouring, jib, locomotive, motor truck, 

overhead traveling, pillar jib, pintle, portal, 

semigantry, semiportal, storage bridge, tower, 

walking jib, and wall cranes. 

3. The term derrick shall mean a power-driven 

apparatus consisting of a mast or equivalent 

members held at the top by guys or braces, with or 

without a boom, for use with a hoisting 

mechanism and operating ropes. The term shall 

include all types of derricks, such as A-frame, 

breast, Chicago boom, gin-pole, guy, and stiff-leg 

derricks. 

4. The term hoist shall mean a power-driven 

apparatus for raising or lowering a load by the 

application of a pulling force that does not include 

a car or platform running in guides. The term 

shall include all types of hoists, such as basemounted electric, clevis suspension, hook 

suspension, monorail, overhead electric, simple 

drum, and trolley suspension hoists. 

5. The term highlift truck shall mean a power-driven 

industrial type of truck used for lateral 

transportation that is equipped with a poweroperated lifting device usually in the form of a 

fork or platform capable of tiering loaded pallets 

or skids one above the other. Instead of a fork or 

platform, the lifting device may consist of a ram, 

scoop, shovel, crane, revolving fork, or other 

attachments for handling specific loads. The term 

shall mean and include highlift trucks known 

under such names as forklifts, forklift trucks, 

tiering trucks, or stacking trucks, but shall not 

mean low-lift trucks or low-lift platform trucks 

that are designed for the transportation of, but not 

the tiering of, material. 

6. The term manlift shall mean a device intended for 

the conveyance of persons which consists of 

platforms or brackets mounted on, or attached to, 

an endless belt, cable, chain, or similar method of 

suspension; such belt, cable, or chain operating in 

a substantially vertical direction and being 

supported by and driven through pulleys, sheaves 

or sprockets at the top and bottom. 

11
HO 8 - Power-Driven Metal Forming, 

Punching, and Shearing Machine 

Occupations 

The following occupations are prohibited: 

1. The occupations of operator of or helper on the 

following power-driven metal forming, punching, 

and shearing machines: 

a. All rolling machines, such as beading, 

straightening, corrugating, flanging, or 

bending rolls; and hot or cold rolling mills. 

b. All pressing or punching machines, such as 

punch presses except those provided with full 

automatic feed and ejection and with a fixed 

barrier guard to prevent the hands or fingers 

of the operator from entering the areas 

between the dies; power presses; and plate 

punches. 

c. All bending machines, such as apron brakes 

and press brakes. 

d. All hammering machines, such as drop 

hammers and power hammers. 

e. All shearing machines, such as guillotine or 

squaring shears; alligator shears; and rotary 

shears. 

2. The occupations of settingup, adjusting, repairing, 

oiling, or cleaning these machines including those 

with automatic feed and ejection. 

Exemption 

The exemption for student-learners and apprentices 

applies to HO 8. 

Definitions 

1. The term operator shall mean a person who 

operates a machine covered by this HO by 

performing such functions as starting or stopping 

the machine, placing materials into or removing 

them from the machine, or any other functions 

directly involved in the operation of the machine. 

2. The term helper shall mean a person who assists 

in the operation of a machine covered by the HO 

by helping place materials into or removing them 

from the machine. 

3. The term forming, punching, and shearing shall 

mean power-driven metalworking machines, other 

than machine tools, which change the shape of or 

cut metal by means of tools, such as dies, rolls, or 

knives which are mounted on rams, plungers, or 

other moving parts. Types of forming, punching 

and shearing machines enumerated in this section 

are the machines to which the designation is by 

custom applied. Not included in this term are 

metalworking machines known as machine tools. 

4. The term machine tools shall mean power-driven 

complete metalworking machines having one or 

more tool- or work-holding devices and used for 

progressively removing metal in the form of 

“chips.” Since the HO does not apply to machine 

tools, the 18-year minimum age does not apply. 

The following is a list of common machine tools: 

Milling Function Machines 

Horizontal Milling Machines 

Vertical Milling Machines 

Universal Milling Machines 

Planer-type Milling Machines 

Gear Hobbing Machines 

Profilers 

Routers 

Turning Function Machines 

Engine Lathes 

Turret Lathes 

Hollow Spindle Lathes 

Automatic Lathes 

Automatic Screw Machines 

Planing Function Machines 

Planers 

Shapers 

Slotters 

Broaches 

Keycasters 

Hack Saws 

Grinding Function Machines 

Grinders 

Abrasive Wheels 

Abrasive Belts 

Abrasive Disks 

Abrasive Points 

Polishing Wheels 

Buffing Wheels 

Stroppers 

Lapping Machines 

Boring Function Machines 

Vertical Boring Mills 

Horizontal Boring Mills 

Jig Borers 

Pedestal Drills 

Radial Drills 

Gang Drills 

Upright Drills 

Drill Presses 

Centering Machines 

Reamers 

Honers 

12
HO 9 - Occupations in Connection with 

Mining, Other than Coal 

All occupations in connection with mining, other 

than coal (see HO 3), are prohibited except the 

following: 

1. Work in offices, in the warehouse or supply 

house, in the change house, in the laboratory, and 

in repair or maintenance shops not located 

underground. 

2. Work in the operation and maintenance of living 

quarters. 

3. Work outside the mine in surveying, in the repair 

and maintenance of roads, and in general cleanup 

about the mine property such as clearing brush 

and digging drainage ditches. 

4. Work of track crews in the building and 

maintaining of sections of railroad track located in 

those areas of opencut metal mines where mining 

and haulage activities are not being conducted at 

the time and place that such building and 

maintenance work is being done. 

5. Work in or about surface placer mining operations 

other than placer dredging operations and 

hydraulic placer mining operations. 

6. The following work in metal mills other than in 

mercury-recovery mills or mills using the cyanide 

process: 

a. Work involving the operation of jigs, sludge 

tables, flotation cells, or drier-filters. 

b. Work of handsorting at picking table or 

picking belt. 

c. General cleanup work. 

Provided, however, that nothing in this section shall be 

construed as permitting employment of minors in any 

occupation prohibited by any other HO issued by the 

Secretary of Labor. 

Definitions 

The term all occupations in connection with mining, 

other than coal shall mean all work performed: 

- underground in mines and quarries; 

- on the surface at underground mines and 

underground quarries; 

- in or about opencut mines, open quarries, clay 

pits, and sand and gravel operations; 

- at or about placer mining operations; 

- at or about dredging operations for clay, sand, 

or gravel; at or about borehole mining 

operations; 

- in or about all metal mills, washer plants, or 

grinding mills reducing the bulk of the 

extracted minerals; and 

- at or about any other crushing, grinding, 

screening, sizing, washing, or cleaning 

operations performed upon the extracted 

minerals except where such operations are 

performed as part of a manufacturing process. 

The term shall not include work performed in 

subsequent manufacturing or processing operations, 

such as work performed in smelters, electrometallurgical plants, refineries, reduction plants, 

cement mills, plants where quarried stone is cut, 

sanded, and further processed, or plants manufacturing 

clay, glass, or ceramic products. Neither shall the term 

include work performed in connection with coal 

mining, in petroleum production, in natural-gas 

production, nor in dredging operations which are not a 

part of mining operations, such as dredging for 

construction or navigation purposes. 

HO 10 - Occupations Involving the 

Operation of Power-Driven MeatProcessing Machines and Occupations 

Involving Slaughtering, Meatpacking, 

Processing, or Rendering 

The following occupations in retail establishments, 

wholesale establishments, service establishments, 

slaughtering and meatpacking establishments, or 

rendering plants are prohibited: 

1. All occupations involved in the operation or 

feeding of the following power-driven machines, 

including settingup, adjusting, repairing, oiling, or 

cleaning such machines, regardless of the product 

being processed by these machines (including, for 

example, the slicing in a retail delicatessen of 

meat, poultry, seafood, bread, vegetables, or 

cheese, etc.): meat slicers, meat patty forming 

machines, meat and bone cutting saws, knives 

(except bacon-slicing machines ∗

). 

2. All occupations involved in the operation or 

feeding of the following power-driven machines, 

including settingup, adjusting, repairing, oiling, or 

cleaning such machines, regardless of the product 

being processed by these machines: headsplitters, 

and guillotine cutters; snoutpullers and jawpullers; 

skinning machines; horizontal rotary washing 

machines; casing-cleaning machines; and presses 

(except belly-rolling machines). 

3. All boning operations. 

∗

The term bacon slicing machine as used in this HO refers to those 

machines which are designed solely for the purpose of slicing bacon 

and are equipped with enclosure or barrier guards that prevent the 

operator from coming in contact with the blade or blades, and with 

devices for automatic feeding, slicing, shingling, stacking, and 

conveying the sliced bacon away from the point of operation. 

13
4. All operations on the killing floor, in curing 

cellars, and in hide cellars, except the work of 

messengers, runners, handtruckers, and similar 

occupations which require entering such 

workrooms or workplaces infrequently and for 

short periods of time. 

5. All occupations involved in the recovery of lard 

and oils, except packaging and shipping of such 

products and the operations of lard-roll machines. 

6. All occupations involved in tankage or rendering 

of dead animals, animal offal, animal fats, scrap 

meats, blood, and bones into stockfeeds, tallow, 

inedible greases, fertilizer ingredients, and similar 

products. 

7. All occupations that involve the pushing or 

dropping of any suspended carcass, half-carcass, 

or quarter-carcass of beef. 

8. All occupations involving hand-lifting or handcarrying any carcass or half-carcass of beef, pork, 

or horse, or any quarter-carcass of beef or horse. 

Exemptions 

The exemption for student-learners and apprentices 

applies to HO 10. 

HO 10 shall not apply to the killing and processing of 

poultry, rabbits, or small game in areas physically 

separated from the killing floor. 

Definitions 

1. The term slaughtering and meatpacking 

establishments shall mean places in or about 

which cattle, calves, hogs, sheep, lambs, goats, or 

horses are killed, butchered, or processed. The 

term shall also include establishments which 

manufacture or process meat products or sausage 

casings from such animals. 

2. The term rendering plants shall mean 

establishments engaged in the conversion of dead 

animals, animal offal, animal fats, scrap meats, 

blood and bones into stock feeds, tallow, inedible 

greases, fertilizer ingredients, and similar 

products. 

3. The term killing floor shall include that workroom 

or workplace where cattle, calves, hogs, sheep, 

lambs, goats, or horses are immobilized, shackled, 

or killed, and the carcasses are dressed prior to 

chilling. 

4. The term curing cellar shall include that 

workroom or workplace which is primarily 

devoted to the preservation and flavoring of meat 

by curing materials. It does not include that 

workroom or workplace where meats are smoked. 

5. The term hide cellar shall include that workroom 

or workplace where hides are graded, trimmed, 

salted, and otherwise cured. 

6. The term boning occupations shall mean the 

removal of bones from meat cuts. It shall not 

include work that involves cutting, scraping, or 

trimming meat from cuts containing bones. 

HO 11 - Power-Driven Bakery Machine 

Occupations 

The following occupations involved in the 

operation of power-driven bakery machines, no matter 

where performed, are prohibited: 

1. The occupations of operating, assisting to operate, 

or settingup, adjusting, repairing, oiling, or 

cleaning any horizontal or vertical doughmixer; ∗ battermixer ; bread dividing, rounding, or molding 

machine; doughbrake; doughsheeter; combination 

breadslicing and wrapping machine; or cakecutting bandsaw. 

2. The occupation of settingup or adjusting a cooky 

or cracker machine. 

HO 11 does not apply to the following list of bakery 

machines which may be operated by 16- and 17-yearolds minors: 

Ingredient Preparation and Mixing 

Flour-sifting Machine Operator 

Flour-blending Machine Operator 

Sack-cleaning Machine Operator 

Product Forming and Shaping 

Roll-dividing Machine Operator 

Roll-making Machine Operator 

Batter-sealing Machine Operator 

Depositing Machine Operator 

Cooky or Cracker Machine Operator 

Wafer Machine Operator 

Pretzel-stick Machine Operator 

Piedough Rolling Machine Operator 

Piedough Sealing Machine Operator 

Pie-crimping Machine Operator 

Finishing and Icing 

Depositing Machine Operator 

Enrobing Machine Operator 

Spray Machine Operator 

Icing Mixing Machine Operator 

∗

HO 11 prohibits minors from operating any vertical or horizontal 

mixer (including countertop models) when used to mix dough, batter, 

and items such as vegetables, meat mixtures and other heavier 

products that require the use of the same strength or design of 

agitators, whips, or beaters as those used to mix dough or batter. HO 

11 does not prohibit minors from using such equipment to mix 

lighter fare such as meringues and light icings when the agitators or 

whips being used are designed solely for such use. 

14
Slicing and Wrapping 

Roll Slicing and Wrapping Machine 

Operator 

Cake Wrapping Machine Operator 

Carton Packing and Sealing Machine 

Operator 

Panwashing 

Spray-type Panwashing Machine Operator 

Tumbler-type Panwashing Machine 

Operator 

HO 12 - Power-Driven Paper-Products 

Machine Operations 

The following occupations are prohibited in any 

type of establishment (manufacturing, 

nonmanufacturing, retail, wholesale, service, etc.): 

1. The occupations of operating or assisting to 

operate any of the following power-driven paperproducts machines: 

a. Arm-type wire stitcher or stapler, circular or 

bandsaw, corner cutter or mitering machine, 

corrugating and single- or double-facing 

machine, envelope die-cutting press, 

guillotine papercutter or shear, horizontal bar 

scorer, laminating or combining machine, 

sheeting machine, scrap paper baler, paper 

box compactor, or vertical slotter 

b. Platen diecutting press, platen printing press, 

or punch press which involves hand feeding 

of the machine. 

2. The occupations of settingup, adjusting, repairing, 

oiling or cleaning these machines including those 

which do not involve hand feeding. 

Exemptions 

1. The exemption for student-learners and 

apprentices applies to HO 12. 

2. Since enactment of the Compactors and Balers 

Safety Standards Modernization Act, Public Law 

104-174 (August 6, 1996), the FLSA has 

contained an exemption which allows 16- and 17-

year-old employees to load, but not operate or 

unload, certain scrap paper balers and paper box 

compactors if all of the following conditions are 

met: 

a. the scrap paper balers meet the American 

National Standard Institute’s (ANSI) Standard 

ANSI Z245.5-1990 and the paper box 

compactors meet the American National 

Standard Institute’s Standard ANSI Z245.2-

1992; ∗

b. the scrap paper balers and paper box 

compactors cannot be operated while being 

loaded; 

c. the scrap paper balers and paper box 

compactors include an on-off switch 

incorporating a key-lock or other system and 

the control of the system is maintained in the 

custody of employees who are 18 years of age 

or older; 

d. the on-off switch of the scrap paper balers and 

paper box compactors is maintained in an off 

position when the equipment is not in 

operation; and 

e. the employer provides notice and posts notice 

on each scrap paper baler and each paper box 

compactor that 16- and 17-year-olds will be 

loading which states: 

- the equipment meets the specific ANSI 

Standard mentioned above, or a more 

recent applicable ANSI Standard that the 

Secretary of Labor has certified as being 

as protective of minors as those listed 

above – Note: the specific standard must 

be listed on the notice in its entirety; 

- Sixteen- and 17-year-old employees may 

only load the scrap paper baler and paper 

box compactor; and 

- any employee under the age of 18 may not 

operate or unload the scrap paper baler and ∗∗ paper box compactor. 

Definitions 

1. The term operating or assisting to operate shall 

mean all work that involves starting or stopping a 

machine covered by this section, placing or 

removing materials into or from the machine, or 

any other work directly involved in operating the 

machine. The term does not include the stacking 

of materials by an employee in an area nearby or 

adjacent to the machine where such employee 

does not place the materials into the machine. 

2. The term paper products machine shall mean all 

power-driven machines used in: 

∗

The FLSA also allows the equipment to meet more recent 

ANSI standards that the Secretary of Labor has certified to 

be at least as protective of the safety of minors as the 

Standards listed above. ∗∗There is no prescribed format for the notice but it must 

contain all the information as stated in subparagraph 2e. 

Posting a notice will satisfy the requirement that employers 

also provide notice. 

15
- the remanufacture or conversion of paper or 

pulp into a finished product, including the 

preparation of such materials for recycling; or 

- the preparation of such material for disposal. 

The term applies to such machines whether 

they are used in establishments that 

manufacture converted paper or pulp products, 

or in any other type of manufacturing or 

nonmanufacturing establishment. 

3. Note: There are many machines not covered by 

HO 12. The most important of these machines are 

the following: 

Bag Machine, Bagmaking Machine

Bottoming Machine (Bags)

Boxmaking Machine (Collapsible Boxes)

Bundling Machine

Calendar Roll and Plating Machines

Cigarette Carton Opener and 

Tax Stamping Machine 

Clasp Machine 

Counting, Stacking and Ejecting Machine 

Corner Stayer 

Covering, Lining, or Wrapping 

Machines (Setup Boxes) 

Creping Machine 

Dornbusch Machine (Wallpaper) 

Ending Machine (Setup Boxes) 

Envelope Machine 

Folding Machine 

Gluing, Scaling, or Gumming Machine 

Interfolding Machine 

Jogging Machine 

Lacer Machine 

Parchmentizing, Waxing, or 

Coating Machines 

Partition Assembling Machine 

Paper Cut Machine 

Quadruple Stayer 

Rewinder 

Rotary Printing Press 

Ruling Machine 

Slitting Machine 

Straw Winder 

Stripping Machine 

Taping Machine 

Tubecutting Machine 

Tubewinder 

Tube Machine (Paper Bags) 

Window Patch Machine 

Wire- or Tag- Stringing Machine 

HO 13 - Occupations Involved in the 

Manufacture of Brick, Tile, and Kindred 

Products 

The following occupations involved in the 

manufacture of clay construction products and of silica 

refractory products are prohibited: 

1. All work in or about establishments in which clay 

construction products are manufactured, except 

a. work in storage and shipping; 

b. work in offices, laboratories, and storerooms; 

and 

c. work in the drying departments of plants 

manufacturing sewer pipe. 

2. All work in or about establishments in which 

silica brick or other silica refractories are 

manufactured except work in offices. 

3. Nothing in this section shall be construed as 

permitting employment of minors in any 

occupations prohibited by any other HO issued by 

the Secretary of Labor. 

Definitions 

1. The term clay construction products shall mean 

the following clay products: brick, hollow 

structural tile, sewer pipe and kindred products, 

refractories, and other clay products such as 

architectural terra cotta, glazed structural tile, 

roofing tile, stove lining, chimney pipes and tops, 

wall coping, and draintile. The term shall not 

include the following non-structural-bearing clay 

products: ceramic floor and wall tile, mosaic tile, 

glazed and enameled tile, faience, and similar tile, 

nor shall the term include non-clay construction 

products such as sand-lime brick, glass brick, or 

non-clay refractories. 

2. The term silica brick or other silica refractories 

shall mean refractory products produced from raw 

materials containing free silica as their main 

constituent. 

16
HO 14 - Occupations Involved in the 

Operation of Power-Driven Circular Saws, 

Bandsaws, and Guillotine Shears 

The following occupations are prohibited in any 

type of establishment (manufacturing, nonmanufacturing, retail, wholesale, service, etc.): 

1. The occupations of operator of or helper on the 

following power-driven fixed or portable 

machines except for machines equipped with full 

automatic feed and ejection: circular saws, band 

saws, and guillotine shears. 

2. The occupations of settingup, adjusting, repairing, 

oiling, or cleaning circular saws, bandsaws, and 

guillotine shears. 

Exemption 

The exemption for student-learners and apprentices 

applies to HO 14. 

Definitions 

1. The term operator shall mean a person who 

operates a machine covered by this HO by 

performing such functions as starting or stopping 

the machine, placing materials into or removing 

them from the machine, or any other functions 

directly involved in operation of the machine. 

2. The term helper shall mean a person who assists 

in the operation of a machine covered by this HO 

by helping place materials onto or removing them 

from the machine. 

3. The term machine equipped with full automatic 

feed and ejection shall mean machines covered by 

this HO which are equipped with devices for full 

automatic feeding and ejection and with a fixed 

barrier guard to prevent completely the operator or 

helper from placing any part of his or her body in 

the point-of-operation area. 

4. The term circular saw shall mean a machine 

equipped with a thin steel disc having a 

continuous series of notches or teeth on the 

periphery, mounted on shafting, and used for 

sawing materials. 

5. The term bandsaw shall mean a machine equipped 

with an endless steel band having a continuous 

series of notches or teeth, running over wheels or 

pulleys, and used for sawing materials. 

6. The term guillotine shears shall mean a machine 

equipped with a movable blade operated vertically 

and used to shear materials. The term shall not 

include other types of shearing machines, using a 

different form of shearing action, such as alligator 

shears or circular shears. 

HO 15 - Occupations Involved in 

Wrecking, Demolition, and Shipbreaking 

Operations 

All occupations in wrecking, demolition, and 

shipbreaking operations are prohibited. 

Definitions 

The term wrecking, demolition, and shipbreaking 

operations shall mean all work, including cleanup and 

salvage work, performed at the site of the total or 

partial razing, demolishing, or dismantling of a 

building, bridge, steeple, tower, chimney, or other 

structure, ship or other vessel. 

HO 16 - Occupations in Roofing 

Operations 

All occupations in roofing operations are prohibited. 

Exemption 

The exemption for student-learners and apprentices 

applies to HO 16. 

Definitions 

The term roofing operations shall mean all work 

performed in connection with the application of 

weatherproofing materials and substances (such as tar 

or pitch, asphalt prepared paper, tile, slate metal, 

translucent materials, and shingles of asbestos, asphalt 

or wood) to roofs of buildings or other structures. The 

term shall also include all work performed in 

connection with: 

- the installation of roofs, including related 

metalwork such as flashing, and 

- alterations, additions, maintenance, and repair, 

including painting and coating, of existing 

roofs. 

The term shall not include gutter and downspout 

work; the construction of the sheathing or base of 

roofs; or the installation of television antennas, air 

conditioners, exhaust and ventilating equipment, or 

similar appliances attached to roofs. 

17
HO 17 - Occupations in Excavation 

Operations 

The following occupations in excavation 

operations are prohibited: 

1. Excavating, working in, or backfilling (refilling) 

trenches, except 

- manually excavating or manually backfilling 

trenches that do not exceed four feet in depth 

at any point, or 

- working in trenches that do not exceed four 

feet in depth at any point. 

2. Excavating for buildings or other structures or 

working in such excavations, except 

- manually excavating to a depth not exceeding 

four feet below any ground surface adjoining 

the excavation, or 

- working in an excavation not exceeding such 

depth, or 

- working in an excavation where the side 

walls are shored or sloped to the angle of 

repose. 

3. Working within tunnels prior to the completion of 

all driving and shoring operations. 

4. Working within shafts prior to the completion of 

all sinking and shoring operations. 

Exemption 

The exemption for student-learners and apprentices 

applies to HO 17. 

Exemptions from Certain HOs for 

Apprentices and Student-Learners 

Hazardous Occupations Orders Nos. 5, 8, 10, 12, 14, 

16, and 17 contain exemptions for 16- and 17-year-old 

apprentices and student-learners provided they are 

employed under the following conditions: 

Apprentices: 

1. the apprentice is employed in a craft recognized as 

an apprenticeable trade; 

2. the work of the apprentice in the occupations 

declared particularly hazardous is incidental to his 

or her training; 

3. such work is intermittent and for short periods of 

time and is under the direct and close supervision 

of a journeyman as a necessary part of such 

apprentice training; and 

4. the apprentice is registered by the Bureau of 

Apprenticeship and Training of the U. S. 

Department of Labor as employed in accordance 

with the standards established by that Bureau, or 

is registered by a State agency as employed in 

accordance with the standards of the State 

apprenticeship agency recognized by the Bureau 

of Apprenticeship and Training, or is employed 

under a written apprenticeship agreement and 

conditions which are found by the Secretary of 

Labor to conform substantially with such Federal 

or State standards. 

Student-Learners: 

1. the student-learner is enrolled in a course of study 

and training in a cooperative vocational training 

program under a recognized State or local 

educational authority or in a course of study in a 

substantially similar program conducted by a 

private school; and 

2. such student-learner is employed under a written 

agreement which provides: 

a. that the work of the student-learner in the 

occupations declared particularly hazardous 

shall be incidental to the training, 

b. that such work shall be intermittent and for 

short periods of time, and under the direct and 

close supervision of a qualified and 

experienced person, 

c. that safety instruction shall be given by the 

school and correlated by the employer with 

on-the-job training, and 

d. that a schedule of organized and progressive 

work processes to be performed on the job 

shall have been prepared. 

Each such written agreement shall contain the 

name of the student-learner, and shall be signed 

by the employer and the school coordinator or 

principal. Copies of each agreement shall 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 where 

it is found that reasonable precautions have not 

been observed for the safety of minors employed 

thereunder. 

A high school graduate may be employed in 

an occupation in which training has been 

completed as provided in this paragraph as a 

student-learner, even though the youth is not yet 

18 years of age. 

Although the regulations do not provide definitions 

of the terms intermittent and short periods of time, the 

Wage and Hour Division interprets those terms to 

mean that an apprentice or student-learner may not be 

the principal operator of prohibited machinery. He or 

18
she must work under the close supervision of a fully 

qualified and experienced adult, such as a journeyman. 

Further, the duties assigned the minor may not be such 

that he or she is constantly operating the prohibited 

machinery during the work shift, but only doing so as 

part of the training experience. This would preclude 

an apprentice or student-learner from being a 

production worker, responsible for spending a 

significant portion of the workday operating prohibited 

machinery or performing prohibited tasks. The Wage 

and Hour Division considers the continuous 

performance of otherwise prohibited work that exceeds 

one hour a day to be more than intermittent and more 

than for short periods of time. The Wage and Hour 

Division also considers the performance of otherwise 

prohibited work which totals more than 20% of the 

student-learner’s work shift to be more than for short 

periods of time. 

The regulations do not define the term direct and 

close supervision. The Wage and Hour Division’s 

interpretation of direct and close supervision as it 

applies to apprentices and student-learners is based on 

guidance received from the Bureau of Apprenticeship 

and Training (BAT) which is part of the U. S. 

Department of Labor’s Employment and Training 

Administration. BAT establishes ratios governing the 

number of journeymen and apprentices that may be 

employed on the job site in order to ensure worker 

safety and that the apprentices receive both proper 

training and supervision. BAT has advised the Wage 

and Hour Division that the most widely used ratio is 

one apprentice for the first journeyman on-site, and 

one apprentice for every three additional journeymen 

thereafter. The Wage and Hour Division considers the 

requirement of direct and close supervision to be met 

when there is one journeyman or experienced adult 

working with the first apprentice/student-learner onsite, and at least three journeymen or experienced 

adults working alongside each additional 

apprentice/student-learner. Of course, the requirement 

for direct and close supervision applies only during the 

periods when the apprentice/student-learner is actually 

performing work that would otherwise be prohibited 

by the HO. 

Age Certificates 

Employers may protect themselves from 

unintentional violation of the child labor provisions by 

keeping on file an employment or age certificate for 

each minor employed to show that the minor is the 

minimum age for the job. Certificates issued under 

most State laws are acceptable for purposes of the 

FLSA. 

Enforcement of the Federal Child Labor 

Provisions 

The Wage and Hour Division, which is part of the 

Department of Labor’s Employment Standards 

Administration, administers and enforces the child 

labor, minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping 

provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Wage 

and Hour Division also has enforcement responsibility 

for programs covering such things as prevailing wages 

for government contracts, the payment of special 

minimum wages, farm labor, family and medical 

leave, immigration and polygraph testing. Wage and 

Hour Division Investigators, who are stationed across 

the United States, are authorized to conduct 

investigations and gather data on wages, hours of 

work, and compliance with the child labor provisions. 

Penalties for Violation 

Civil Money Penalties 

Employers may be subject to a civil money penalty 

of up to $11,000 for each employee who is the subject 

of a child labor violation. When a child labor civil 

money penalty is assessed against an employer, the 

employer has the right, within 15 days after receipt of 

the notice of such penalty, to file an exception to the 

determination that the violation or violations of the 

child labor provisions occurred. When such an 

exception is filed with the office making the 

assessment, the matter is referred to the Chief 

Administrative Law Judge, and a formal hearing is 

scheduled. At such a hearing, the employer may, or an 

attorney retained by the employer may, present such 

witnesses, introduce such evidence and establish such 

facts as the employer believes will support the 

exception. The determination of the amount of any 

civil money penalty becomes final if no exception is 

taken to the administrative assessment thereof, or if an 

exception if filed pursuant to the decision and order of 

the administrative law judge. 

Hot Goods Injunction 

The FLSA authorizes the Department of Labor to 

seek injunctions to halt interstate commerce of goods 

tainted by “oppressive child labor.” Section 12(a)(29 

U.S.C. 212(a)) prohibits interstate commerce in such 

“hot” goods, stating that “[n]o producer, manufacturer, 

or dealer shall ship or deliver for shipment in 

commerce any goods produced in an establishment in 

the United States in or about which within 30 days 

prior to the removal of such goods therefrom any 

19
oppressive child labor [as defined in section 3(l), 29 

U.S.C. 203(l)] has been employed.” It is not necessary 

for the employees to be working on the goods that are 

removed for shipment in order for those goods to be 

considered “hot goods.” 

Injunction to Compel Compliance 

The FLSA authorizes the Department of Labor to 

seek injunctions against violators of the child labor 

provisions to compel their compliance with the law. 

Further violations could result in sanctions against 

such persons for contempt of court. 

Criminal Sanctions 

The FLSA also provides, in the case of willful 

violation, for a fine up to $10,000; or, for a second 

offense committed after the conviction of such person 

for a similar offense, for a fine of not more than 

$10,000 or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, 

or both. 

Additional Information 

Inquiries about the Fair Labor Standards Act or any 

other law administered by the Wage and Hour 

Division may be addressed to any local office of the 

Wage and Hour Division. Additional information is 

available on our Home Page located at 

http://www.wagehour.dol.gov/. 

To locate the Wage and Hour Division office nearest 

to you, telephone our toll-free information and helpline 

at 1-866-4US-WAGE (1-866-487-9243): a customer 

service representative is available to assist you with 

referral information from 8am to 5pm in your own 

time zone; or log onto the nationwide listing of WageHour District Offices located at: 

http://www.dol.gov/esa/contacts/whd/ 

america2.htm. 

20