19328 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 73 / Tuesday, April 17, 2007 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Wage and Hour Division 

29 CFR Part 570 

RIN 1215–AB44 

Child Labor Regulations, Orders and 

Statements of Interpretation 

AGENCY: Wage and Hour Division, 

Employment Standards Administration, 

Labor. 

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking and request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor 

(Department or DOL) is considering 

proposing revisions to the child labor 

regulations issued pursuant to the Fair 

Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 CFR 

part 570, which set forth the criteria for 

the permissible employment of minors 

under 18 years of age. In particular, 

subpart E of these regulations is under 

review. Subpart E identifies occupations 

deemed particularly hazardous for or 

detrimental to the health or well-being 

of employees under 18 years of age. This 

advance notice of proposed rulemaking 

seeks the views of the public on the 

need for changes to these regulations. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before July 16, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by RIN 1215–AB44, by either 

one of the following methods: 

• Electronic comments, through the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Wage and Hour Division, 

Employment Standards Administration, 

U.S. Department of Labor, Room S– 

3502, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20210. 

Instructions: Please submit one copy 

of your comments by only one method. 

All submissions received must include 

the agency name and Regulatory 

Information Number (RIN) identified 

above for this advance notice of 

proposed rulemaking. All comments 

received will be posted without change 

to http://www.regulations.gov, including 

any personal information provided. 

Because we continue to experience 

delays in receiving mail in the 

Washington, DC area, commenters are 

strongly encouraged to transmit their 

comments electronically via the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal at http:// 

www.regulations.gov or to submit them 

by mail early. For additional 

information on submitting comments 

and the rulemaking process, see the 

‘‘Public Participation’’ heading of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this document. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Arthur M. Kerschner, Jr., Office of 

Enforcement Policy, Child Labor and 

Special Employment Team, Wage and 

Hour Division, Employment Standards 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Labor, Room S–3510, 200 Constitution 

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; 

telephone: (202) 693–0072 (this is not a 

toll free number). Copies of this advance 

notice of proposed rulemaking may be 

obtained in alternative formats (Large 

Print, Braille, Audio Tape, or Disc), 

upon request, by calling (202) 693–0023. 

TTY/TDD callers may dial toll-free (877) 

889–5627 to obtain information or 

request materials in alternative formats. 

Questions of interpretation and/or 

enforcement of regulations issued by 

this agency or referenced in this notice 

may be directed to the nearest Wage and 

Hour Division District Office. Locate the 

nearest office by calling the Wage and 

Hour Division’s toll-free help line at 

(866) 4US–WAGE ((866) 487–9243) 

between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. in your local 

time zone, or log onto the Wage and 

Hour Division’s website for a 

nationwide listing of Wage and Hour 

District and Area Offices at: http:// 

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

america2.htm. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Electronic Access and Filing 

Comments 

Public Participation: This advance 

notice of proposed rulemaking is 

available through the Federal Register 

and the http://www.regulations.gov Web 

site. You may also access this document 

via the WHD home page at http:// 

www.wagehour.dol.gov. To comment 

electronically on federal rulemakings, 

go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 

http://www.regulations.gov, which will 

allow you to find, review, and submit 

comments on federal documents that are 

open for comment and published in the 

Federal Register. Please identify all 

comments submitted in electronic form 

by the RIN docket number (1215–AB44). 

Because of delays in receiving mail in 

the Washington, DC area, commenters 

should transmit their comments 

electronically via the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal at http:// 

www.regulations.gov, or submit them by 

mail early to ensure timely receipt prior 

to the close of the comment period. 

Submit one copy of your comments by 

only one method. 

II. Background 

The child labor provisions of the Fair 

Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establish a 

minimum age of 16 years for 

employment in nonagricultural 

occupations, but the Secretary of Labor 

is authorized to provide by regulation 

for 14- and 15-year-olds to work in 

suitable occupations other than 

manufacturing or mining, and during 

periods and under conditions that will 

not interfere with their schooling or 

health and well-being. The FLSA 

provisions permit 16- and 17-year-olds 

to work in the nonagricultural sector 

without hours or time limitations, 

except in certain occupations found and 

declared by the Secretary to be 

particularly hazardous, or detrimental to 

the health or well-being of such 

workers. 

The regulations for 14- and 15-yearolds are known as Child Labor 

Regulation No. 3 (Reg. 3) and are 

contained in subpart C of part 570 (29 

CFR 570.31–.38). Reg. 3 limits the hours 

and times of day that such minors may 

work and identifies occupations that are 

either permitted or prohibited for such 

minors. Under Reg. 3, 14- and 15-yearolds may work in certain occupations in 

retail, food service, and gasoline service 

establishments, but are not permitted to 

work in certain other occupations 

(including all occupations found by the 

Secretary to be particularly hazardous 

for 16- and 17-year-olds). Reg. 3, 

originally promulgated in 1939, was 

revised to reflect the 1961 amendments 

to the FLSA, which extended the Act’s 

coverage to include enterprises engaged 

in commerce or the production of goods 

for commerce. Because of the statutory 

amendments, the FLSA’s child labor 

protections became applicable to 

additional areas of employment for 

young workers in retail, food service, 

and gasoline service establishments. 

The regulations concerning 

nonagricultural hazardous occupations 

are contained in subpart E of 29 CFR 

part 570 (29 CFR 570.50–.68). These 

Hazardous Occupations Orders (HOs) 

apply on either an industry basis, 

specifying the occupations in a 

particular industry that are prohibited, 

or an occupational basis, irrespective of 

the industry in which the work is 

performed. The seventeen HOs were 

adopted individually during the period 

of 1939 through 1963. Some of the HOs, 

specifically HOs 5, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 

17, contain limited exemptions that 

permit the employment of 16- and 17- 

year-old apprentices and studentlearners under particular conditions to 

perform work otherwise prohibited to 

that age group. The terms and 


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conditions for employing such 

apprentices and student-learners are 

detailed in § 570.50(b) and (c). 

Because of changes in the workplace, 

the introduction of new processes and 

technologies, the emergence of new 

types of businesses where young 

workers may find employment 

opportunities, the existence of differing 

federal and state standards, and 

divergent views on how best to correlate 

school and work experiences, the 

Department has long been reviewing the 

criteria for permissible child labor 

employment. In this review, the 

Department published a Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in 1982, 

a Final Rule in 1991, both an Advance 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

(ANPRM) and an NPRM in 1994, a Final 

Rule in 1995, an NPRM in 1999, and a 

Final Rule in 2004. 

On July 16, 1982, an NPRM was 

published in the Federal Register (47 

FR 31254) which proposed to revise 

several elements of Reg. 3, including the 

permissible hours and times of 

employment for 14- and 15-year-olds 

and the types of cooking operations 

those minors would be permitted to 

perform. The NPRM generated 

considerable public interest, mostly 

relating to the expansion of the hours 

and times of work for this age group. 

The Department subsequently 

suspended the proposal from further 

consideration and no final rule was 

implemented. 

The Department continued to receive 

suggestions from the public that certain 

changes should be made to the child 

labor regulations on a number of issues. 

In 1987, the Department established a 

Child Labor Advisory Committee 

(CLAC) composed of 21 members 

representing employers, education, 

labor, child guidance professionals, 

civic groups, child advocacy groups, 

state officials, and safety groups. The 

mission of the CLAC was to give advice 

and guidance in developing possible 

proposals to change existing standards. 

After reviewing a number of issues, the 

CLAC proposed making certain changes 

to the child labor regulations. The 

Department considered the CLAC’s 

suggestions, as well as suggestions 

received from the public as noted above, 

and published an NPRM in October 

1990, proposing changes to three HOs 

(55 FR 42612). In December 1991, the 

Department promulgated a Final Rule 

that revised the three HOs (56 FR 

58626). 

The Department continued to review 

the child labor regulations and on May 

13, 1994, in an effort to accumulate data 

concerning all aspects of the provisions, 

published both an NPRM (59 FR 25164) 

and an ANPRM (59 FR 25167). The 

NPRM proposed to exempt 14- and 15- 

year-olds from Reg. 3 hours standards 

when employed under certain 

restrictions as sports attendants for 

professional sports teams, to standardize 

the Reg. 3 process for issuing 

occupational variances for Work 

Experience and Career Exploration 

Program (WECEP) participants, to 

remove an outdated exemption for 

enrollees in certain work training 

programs, and to revise the process by 

which HOs are promulgated. A Final 

Rule on these issues was published 

April 17, 1995 (60 FR 19336). 

The 1994 ANPRM requested public 

comment on several specific topics as 

well as all aspects of the child labor 

provisions. Several individuals and 

organizations submitted comments. The 

National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health (NIOSH) provided the 

Department with epidemiological data 

on a number of issues related to both 

Reg. 3 and the HOs. NIOSH also 

provided the Department with statistics 

regarding occupational injuries and 

made several recommendations. A 

number of child guidance professionals, 

educators, unions, employer 

associations, and child labor advocates 

also commented and made various 

recommendations. 

Congress has amended the child labor 

provisions of the FLSA three times since 

1996. The Compactors and Balers Safety 

Standards Modernization Act, Pub. L. 

104–174 (Compactor and Baler Act), 

was signed into law on August 6, 1996. 

This legislation added section 13(c)(5) 

to the FLSA, permitting minors 16 and 

17 years of age to load, but not operate 

or unload, certain scrap paper balers 

and paper box compactors when certain 

requirements are met. The Drive for 

Teen Employment Act, Pub. L. 105–334, 

was signed into law on October 31, 

1998. This legislation added section 

13(c)(6) to the FLSA, prohibiting minors 

under 17 years of age from driving 

automobiles and trucks on public 

roadways on-the-job and establishing 

the conditions and criteria for 17-yearolds to drive automobiles and trucks on 

public roadways on-the-job. The 

Department of Labor Appropriations 

Act, 2004, Pub. L. 108–199, amended 

the FLSA by creating a limited 

exemption from the youth employment 

provisions for minors 14 to 18 years of 

age who are excused from compulsory 

school attendance beyond the eighth 

grade. The exemption, contained in 

section 13(c)(7) of the FLSA, allows 

eligible youth, under specific 

conditions, to be employed inside and 

outside of places of business that use 

machinery to process wood products, 

but does not allow such youth to 

operate or assist in operating powerdriven woodworking machines. This 

exemption overrides the FLSA’s 

formerly complete prohibition on the 

employment of 14- and 15-year-olds in 

manufacturing occupations contained in 

section 3(l). 

The Department published an NPRM 

in the Federal Register on November 30, 

1999 (64 FR 67130), inviting comments 

on revisions of regulations to implement 

the 1996 and 1998 amendments and to 

update certain regulatory standards. The 

Compactor and Baler Act affected the 

HO 12 standards (Occupations involved 

in the operation of paper-products 

machines) (29 CFR 570.63) and certain 

other related regulations; amendments 

of those regulations were proposed. The 

Drive for Teen Employment Act affected 

the HO 2 standards (Occupations of 

motor-vehicle driver and outside helper) 

(29 CFR 570.52); an amendment of that 

regulation was proposed. As a result of 

its ongoing review of the child labor 

provisions, the Department also 

proposed changes to HO 1 (Occupations 

in or about plants or establishments 

manufacturing or storing explosives or 

articles containing explosive 

components) (29 CFR 570.51), HO 16 

(Occupations in roofing operations) (29 

CFR 570.67), the Reg. 3 limitations on 

cooking (29 CFR 570.34), and 29 CFR 

570.6(b)(1) which deals with the 

disposition of a Certificate of Age when 

the named individual’s employment 

ends. A Final Rule, addressing the 

above issues and implementing 

procedural changes dealing with 

administrative hearings and appeals of 

child labor civil money penalties, was 

issued on December 16, 2004 (69 FR 

75382). 

In 1998, the Department provided 

funds to NIOSH to conduct a 

comprehensive review of the scientific 

literature and available data in order to 

assess current workplace hazards and 

the adequacy of the current youth 

employment HOs to address them. This 

study was commissioned to provide the 

Secretary with another tool to use in her 

ongoing review of the youth 

employment provisions, and of the 

hazardous occupations orders in 

particular. The report, entitled National 

Institute for Occupational Safety and 

Health Recommendations to the U.S. 

Department of Labor for Changes to 

Hazardous Orders (hereinafter referred 

to as the NIOSH Report or the Report), 

was issued in July of 2002. The Report, 

which makes 35 recommendations 

concerning the existing nonagricultural 

HOs and recommends the creation of 17 

new HOs, also incorporated the 

comments NIOSH submitted in 


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response to the 1999 NPRM. The report 

is available for review on the 

Department’s YouthRules! Web site at 

http://www.youthrules.dol.gov/ 

resources.htm. 

The Department recognizes NIOSH’s 

extensive research efforts in compiling 

and reviewing this data. However, it has 

cautioned readers about reaching 

conclusions and expecting revisions to 

the existing HOs based solely on the 

information in the Report. In the Report, 

NIOSH itself recognized the confines of 

its methodology and included 

appropriate caveats about limitations in 

available data and gaps in research. Of 

those limitations, the following are 

worth noting. The NIOSH Report 

recommendations are driven by 

information on high-risk activities for 

all workers, not just patterns of fatalities 

and serious injuries among young 

workers. There is little occupational 

injury, illness, and fatality data 

available regarding minors less than 16 

years of age. In addition, such data for 

youth 16 and 17 years of age tend to be 

mixed with that of older workers whose 

employment is not subject to the youth 

employment provisions of the FLSA. 

Also, available occupational injury, 

illness, fatality, and employment data 

on the specific operations in the specific 

industries covered by the NIOSH Report 

recommendations tend to be combined 

with data on other operations and/or 

industries. In some cases, this may 

result in a diminution of the risk by 

including less risky operations and 

industries in the employment estimates. 

In other cases, the risk may be 

exaggerated by including more 

dangerous operations/industries in the 

injury, illness, or fatality estimates. 

In addition, as NIOSH was tasked 

with examining issues within the 

framework of the current HOs only, the 

Report did not consider the extent to 

which fatalities occur despite existing 

HOs, Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration (OSHA) standards, or 

state laws prohibiting the activity. If 

fatalities result from recognized illegal 

activities, such as working with 

fireworks or a power-driven circular 

saw, the best strategy for preventing 

future injuries may not be to revise the 

regulations but to increase compliance 

with existing laws through public 

awareness initiatives, targeted 

compliance assistance efforts, and 

stepped-up enforcement activities. The 

Report also did not consider potential 

approaches for decreasing workplace 

injuries that provide an alternative to a 

complete ban on employment, such as 

safety training, increased supervision, 

the use of effective personal protective 

equipment, and strict adherence to 

recognized safe working practices. 

Though cognizant of the limitations of 

the Report, the Department places great 

value on the information provided by 

NIOSH. Since receiving the Report, the 

Department has conducted a detailed 

review and has met with various 

stakeholders to evaluate and prioritize 

each recommendation for possible 

regulatory action consistent with the 

established national policy of balancing 

the benefits of employment 

opportunities for youth with the 

necessary and appropriate safety 

protections. The 2004 Final Rule 

addressed six of the recommendations. 

As an adjunct to its review of these 

issues the Department contracted with a 

private consulting firm, SiloSmashers, 

Inc., to construct a model that, using 

quantitative analysis, would help 

determine the costs and benefits 

associated with implementing, or not 

implementing, each of the Report’s 

recommendations. The SiloSmashers 

report, Determination of the Costs and 

Benefits of Implementing NIOSH 

Recommendations Relating to Child 

Labor Hazardous Orders, was 

completed in November 2004 and 

covers 34 of the NIOSH HO 

recommendations in agricultural and 

nonagricultural occupations, as well as 

several occupations or activities not 

presently addressed by an existing HO. 

The methodology used by 

SiloSmashers was to compare the direct 

costs and benefits of implementing or 

revising an HO, as recommended by 

NIOSH, with the costs and benefits of 

not implementing or revising the HO 

based on the NIOSH recommendations. 

Each SiloSmashers analysis was 

conducted on a mutually exclusive basis 

to yield a net present value (NPV). 

SiloSmashers defines NPV as ‘‘the 

discounted dollar value of an 

investment across the expected 

planning horizon. As a dollar figure, 

NPV is presented at the full value level 

for each implementation approach 

(implementing versus not 

implementing) as well as at the 

incremental approach (the difference 

between implementing versus not 

implementing). As a comparison tool 

and under the incremental approach, 

the higher the NPV, the higher the 

expected value of implementation.’’ The 

NPVs reported by SiloSmashers for each 

of the NIOSH recommendations 

addressing the current nonagricultural 

HOs range from a negative $9,537,000 to 

a positive $113,556,000. 

Although the SiloSmashers report 

includes both a quantitative analysis 

and a qualitative analysis of each 

NIOSH recommendation, the 

Department is concerned that some 

readers might try to rank each 

recommendation solely on the basis of 

the quantitative results (i.e., on the basis 

of the NPVs) listed in the HO 

Comprehensive Summary. This 

simplistic ranking would not be 

appropriate due to several constraints 

inherent in the methodology adopted by 

SiloSmashers, especially the lack of 

reliable and pertinent data. 

In addition, not only was the 

methodology used by SiloSmashers to 

generate the NPVs subject to the same 

data limitations faced by NIOSH 

regarding the employment, fatality, and 

injury rates of young workers, but it also 

raises additional concerns. First, if 

SiloSmashers were unable to identify 

any minors who were fatally injured 

while performing work that was the 

subject of the NIOSH recommendation 

being examined, even if many adult 

workers were killed while performing 

that exact same work, the analysis 

would reflect that implementation of the 

recommendation would have no benefit 

in reducing occupational hazards to 

youth. Such an assumption is contrary 

to the Department’s long-held position 

that work which is dangerous for adults 

is inherently dangerous for youth. For 

example, because SiloSmashers found 

no deaths of youth resulting from the 

operation of chainsaws, it concluded 

that implementation of the NIOSH 

recommendation to expand HO 14 to 

prohibit the operation of chainsaws on 

all materials, and not just on wood and 

wood products as currently prohibited 

by HOs 4 and 5, would have no impact 

on the number of occupational fatalities 

suffered by 16- and 17-year-olds. The 

Department strongly disagrees with this 

conclusion. NIOSH based its 

recommendation on data that 

demonstrate that chainsaws continue to 

be the source of substantial numbers of 

fatalities as well as nonfatal injuries 

which may be unusually severe. 

Accordingly, the Department believes 

that the operation of chainsaws is 

inherently dangerous for young workers, 

regardless of the lack of youth-specific 

injury and fatality data. The Department 

agrees with NIOSH that the prudent 

course of action is to prohibit the use of 

chainsaws by all workers under the age 

of 18. 

Secondly, when youth fatalities were 

identified, the values the SiloSmashers 

report placed on the lives saved and 

injuries prevented under the various 

NIOSH Report recommendations are 

based on estimates published in 

economic literature that are based on 

adult populations. Applying those 

estimates to children may result in an 

underestimate of the risk to children 


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because the susceptibility of a 

developing child’s body to illness, 

injury, or death will most likely differ 

from that of the fully developed body of 

an adult. These differences are 

important in any such analysis, as 

society tends to place a higher value on 

the lives of children compared to adults. 

By their very nature, child labor laws 

are intended to protect children from 

situations that are permissible for 

adults. Thus, even without some of the 

other data limitations discussed above, 

the estimates presented in the 

SiloSmashers report consistently 

understate the benefits of implementing 

the NIOSH recommendations. Because 

of the data limitations and flaws in 

methodology, the Department does not 

consider the individual analysis 

prepared by SiloSmashers to be 

influential for rulemaking purposes. 

It was the Department’s intention that 

the SiloSmashers analysis would help 

in identifying and defining the scope of 

each recommendation and provide 

additional information to consider after 

the decision was made to implement or 

not to implement a particular 

recommendation. This is in keeping 

with the ultimate recommendation 

made in the SiloSmashers report that 

the Department consider both 

quantitative and qualitative factors, as 

well as other internal and external 

factors-such as budget constraints, 

priorities established by the Department 

or Administration, additional 

stakeholder input, etc.-when 

determining which NIOSH Report 

recommendations to implement. The 

entire report provided to the 

Department by SiloSmashers can be 

viewed on the Internet at http:// 

www.youthrules.dol.gov/clri/Final

_Report.pdf. 

As mentioned, the NIOSH Report 

made 35 recommendations concerning 

the existing nonagricultural HOs. The 

Department addressed six of those 

recommendations in the 2004 Final 

Rule. The Department has decided that, 

in an NPRM being published 

concurrently with this ANPRM, it will 

address 25 of the remaining 29 Report 

recommendations dealing with existing 

nonagricultural hazardous occupations 

orders. The Department believes there is 

sufficient data to support implementing 

its proposals. In an attempt to acquire 

additional data in order to address the 

remaining nonagricultural NIOSH 

recommendations, as well as pursue 

items not explored in the NIOSH 

Report, the Department is publishing 

this ANPRM. 

The NIOSH Report also makes 11 

recommendations that impact the 

current agricultural HOs as well as 17 

recommendations that urge the creation 

of new HOs. The Department, in this 

ANPRM, is requesting public comment 

on the feasibility of one of those 

recommendations regarding the creation 

of an HO that would prohibit the 

employment of youth in construction 

occupations. The Department is 

continuing to review the remaining 

recommendations, but for 

administrative reasons excluded them 

from its consideration of the NIOSH 

proposals covered in this phase to keep 

the size and scope manageable. Their 

absence from this current round of 

rulemaking is not an indication that the 

Department believes them to be of less 

importance or that they will not be 

given the same level of consideration as 

the recommendations addressing the 

current nonagricultural HOs. 

III. Topics Upon Which Information Is 

Being Sought 

The Department is publishing this 

ANPRM to obtain information, data, and 

feedback from the public with respect to 

the matters set out below. 

A. Student-Learner and Apprentice 

Exemptions to the Hazardous 

Occupations Orders 

Seven of the 17 current 

nonagricultural HOs contain 

exemptions permitting the employment 

of 16- and 17-year-old student-learners 

and apprentices in otherwise prohibited 

work under specific conditions. The 

HOs that permit such employment are 

HO 5 (Occupations involved in the 

operation of power-driven woodworking 

machines, § 570.55), HO 8 (Occupations 

involved in the operations of powerdriven metal forming, punching, and 

shearing machines, § 570.59), HO 10 

(Occupations in the operation of powerdriven meat processing machines and 

occupations involving slaughtering, 

meat packing or processing, or 

rendering, § 570.61), HO 12 

(Occupations involved in the operation 

of paper-products machines, scrap 

paper balers, and paper box compactors, 

§ 570.63), HO 14 (Occupations involved 

in the operations of circular saws, band 

saws, and guillotine shears, § 570.65), 

HO 16 (Occupations in roofing 

operations and on or about a roof, 

§ 570.67), and HO 17 (Occupations in 

excavation operations, § 570.68). 

Discussions on whether to allow 

exemptions from certain HOs for 

apprenticeships began in the early 

1940s after the enactment of the first 

five HOs. It was agreed that a blanket 

exemption for apprentices—one that 

would apply to every HO—was not 

appropriate. Representatives of the 

Children’s Bureau, which at that time 

was the agency responsible for the 

promulgation of the HOs, postulated 

that if the basic characteristics of a 

particular occupation were hazardous, 

and the work of a hazardous nature was 

relatively continuous, such work would 

remain hazardous for youth even if 

enrolled in an apprenticeship program. 

On the other hand, if the craft for which 

the apprentice is being trained is 

basically nonhazardous, but requires the 

occasional performance of hazardous 

work to complete the training, an 

exemption for apprentices might be 

feasible under certain circumstances. No 

guidelines were provided regarding just 

how much hazardous work should be 

allowed before the occupation became 

too hazardous to warrant an exemption 

for apprentices. However, the Children’s 

Bureau did note that circumstances that 

would allow the creation of such an 

exemption would include the adoption 

of safeguards guaranteeing proper 

supervision of the work of the 

apprentice by an instructor or other 

qualified person. Similar discussions 

concerning the appropriateness of 

exemptions for student-learners soon 

followed. HO 5 was amended on 

November 13, 1941 to include an 

exemption for apprentices and again 

amended on September 26, 1947, to 

accommodate student-learners. The 

remaining HOs that currently contain 

similar exemptions, starting with HO 8 

issued on January 12, 1950, contained 

these exemptions as of the dates of their 

promulgation. The committees that were 

convened by the Department to study 

whether to create HOs for particular 

industries or occupations, pursuant to 

the provisions of former subpart D of 29 

CFR part 570, made their own 

determinations regarding the inclusion 

or omission of student-learner and 

apprentice exemptions. It is not evident 

that these committees followed the 

general guidance provided by the 

Children’s Bureau when considering 

student-learner and apprenticeship 

exemptions. Subpart D was deleted in 

1995 as the procedural requirements for 

creating and amending the HOs 

(rulemaking) were largely superseded by 

the Administrative Procedure Act (see 

60 FR 19336). 

Although the actual exemptions for 

student-learners and apprentices are 

contained within each specific HO, the 

definitions and general requirements 

relating to these exemptions are detailed 

in § 570.50. Section 570.50(b) states that 

an apprentice exemption from an HO 

shall apply only when (1) the apprentice 

is employed in a craft recognized as an 

apprenticable trade; (2) the work of the 

apprentice in the occupations declared 


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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 

United States 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. 

Section 570.50(c) states that studentlearner exemptions shall apply when: 

(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 that provides (i) 

that the work of the student-learner in 

the occupations declared particularly 

hazardous shall be incidental to his or 

her training; (ii) 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; (iii) that safety 

instructions shall be given by the school 

and correlated by the employer with onthe-job training; and (iv) 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. 

Although the regulations do not 

provide definitions of the terms 

intermittent and short periods of time, 

the Department interprets those terms to 

mean that 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. Therefore, an apprentice or 

student-learner may not be the principal 

operator of prohibited machinery (see 

Child Labor Bulletin 101, Youth 

Employment Provisions for 

Nonagricultural Occupations under the 

Fair Labor Standards Act). He or she 

must work under the close supervision 

of a fully qualified and experienced 

adult, such as a journey-level worker. 

Further, 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 Department 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 

Department also considers the 

performance of otherwise prohibited 

work that 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 

Department’s interpretation of direct 

and close supervision as it applies to 

apprentices and student-learners is 

based on guidance originally provided 

by the Bureau of Apprenticeship and 

Training (BAT) within the Department 

of Labor’s Employment and Training 

Administration’s Office of 

Apprenticeship and Training, Employer 

and Labor Services. 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 that 

the most widely used ratio is one 

apprentice for the first journey-level 

worker on-site and one apprentice for 

every three additional journey-level 

workers thereafter. The Department 

considers the requirement of direct and 

close supervision to be met when there 

is one journey-level worker or 

experienced adult working with the first 

apprentice/student-learner on-site, and 

at least three journey-level workers or 

experienced adults working alongside 

each additional apprentice/studentlearner. More information about this 

issue is included in the Department’s 

publication Youth Employment 

Provisions for Non-Agricultural 

Occupations under the Fair Labor 

Standards Act, CL Bulletin 101. 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. 

The NIOSH Report made several 

recommendations concerning the 

application of the student-learner and 

apprentice exemptions to specific HOs. 

The Report recommended that the 

Department retain the exemptions in 

HO 5 (Occupations involved in the 

operation of power-driven woodworking 

machines), HO 8 (Occupations involved 

in the operations of power-driven metal 

forming, punching, and shearing 

machines), and HO 12 (Occupations 

involved in the operation of paperproducts machines, scrap paper balers, 

and paper box compactors). The Report 

recommended that the Department 

revise the exemptions for studentlearners and apprentices in HO 10 

(Occupations in the operation of powerdriven meat-processing machines and 

occupations involving slaughtering, 

meat packing or processing, or 

rendering) so that they would apply 

only to the operation of power-driven 

meat-processing machines in retail, 

wholesale, and service industries-not in 

meat products manufacturing 

industries. Finally, the Report 

recommended that the Department 

remove the student-learner and 

apprentice exemptions contained in HO 

16 (Work in roofing occupations and on 

or about a roof) and HO 17 (Occupations 

in excavating operations). 

The Department does not believe the 

Report provided sufficient rationales for 

these individual recommendations to 

warrant implementation and is seeking 

additional information from the public. 

In order to address the 

recommendations made by the Report, 

and to provide guidance for considering 

student-learner and apprentice 

exemptions for any future HOs that may 

be proposed, the Department is seeking 

public comment on establishing criteria 

as to when an exemption for studentlearners and apprentices is appropriate. 

Such criteria, of course, must be 

consistent with the established national 

policy of balancing the benefits of 

employment opportunities for youth 

with the necessary and appropriate 

safety protections. Information is also 

being sought regarding whether the 

current limitations on the amount of 

hazardous work that may be performed 

by an apprentice or student-learner, as 

well as the degree of required 

supervision, adequately protect, overprotect, or insufficiently protect the 

health and safety of young workers. The 

Department is also especially interested 

in receiving information about the roles 

apprenticeship and student-learner 

programs play in helping youth (1) 

acquire and practice good occupational 

safety and health work practices, (2) 

properly assess workplace risks, and (3) 

reduce occupational injuries and deaths. 

Finally, the Department is questioning 

whether it should retain the provision 

in § 570.50(b)(4) that extends this 

limited exemption to apprenticeship 

programs that, although not registered 

with the BAT or a state agency 


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recognized by BAT, conform 

substantially with the federal or state 

standards. 

B. Power-Driven Woodworking 

Machines, Power-Driven Metal 

Processing Machines and Power-Driven 

Paper Processing Machines 

The Department is seeking 

information from the public regarding 

the scope of several HOs that deal with 

the operation of power-driven 

machinery by youth in the workplace. 

As previously mentioned, the HOs were 

promulgated independently of one 

another at various times between 1939 

and 1963. Several of the HOs apply to 

entire industries or processes, e.g., HO 

3 bans most work in coal mining, HO 4 

bans most work in logging and 

sawmilling, and HO 17 bans most work 

in excavation operations. Other HOs 

prohibit youth from operating certain 

equipment regardless of the industry in 

which the youth may be employed. For 

example, HO 5 (Occupations involved 

in the operation of power-driven 

woodworking machines) prohibits the 

covered employment of 16- and 17-yearolds in the operation of power-driven 

wood-working machines wherever 

located. The term power-driven woodworking machines is defined in 

§ 570.55(b)(1) as meaning 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. This definition 

does not list or name specific types of 

machines, but encompasses any 

machine-past, current, or future-that is 

designed to perform or actually 

performs the functions of cutting, 

shaping, forming, surfacing, nailing, 

stapling, wire stitching, fastening, or 

otherwise assembling, pressing, or 

printing wood or veneer. Under this 

definition, a band saw designed by the 

manufacturer to cut wood or veneer, but 

never used to cut wood or veneer, 

would still be prohibited under HO 5. 

This is true even if the machine were 

used to cut paper, metal, foam rubber, 

or bakery products such as sheet cake. 

Likewise, HO 5 would prohibit a band 

saw designed to cut metal and equipped 

with a blade designed exclusively for 

use on metal when used to cut wood or 

veneer. 

Another example would be that the 

definition of prohibited machinery 

contained in HO 8 (Occupations 

involved in the operations of powerdriven metal forming, punching, and 

shearing machines) is quite different 

from that contained in HO 5, largely 

because of the limited scope of HO 8. 

HO 8 prohibits 16- and 17-year-olds 

from being employed in the occupations 

of operator or helper on power-driven 

metal forming, punching, and shearing 

machines. Section 570.59(a)(1) states 

that prohibited machines are: (1) All 

rolling machines, such as beading, 

straightening, corrugating, flanging, or 

bending rolls, and hot or cold rolling 

mills; (2) 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 area 

between the dies; power presses; and 

plate punches; (3) all bending machines, 

such as apron brakes and press brakes; 

(4) all hammering machines, such as 

drop hammers and power hammers; and 

(5) all shearing machines, such as 

guillotine or squaring shears, alligator 

shears, and rotary shears. 

Section 570.59(b)(3) defines the term 

forming, punching, and shearing 

machines to mean power-driven metalworking machines, other than machine 

tools, that change the shape of or cut 

metal by means of tools, such as dies, 

rolls, or knives that are mounted on 

rams, plungers, or other moving parts. 

This exclusion from HO 8 of machine 

tools used on metal permits 16- and 17- 

year-olds to operate a large number of 

machines that HO 5 would prohibit if 

the same machines were used on wood 

or veneer, or were designed to be used 

on wood or veneer. The Department 

excluded machine tools from the 

prohibitions of HO 8 because the 

frequency of injuries due to machine 

tools was low compared to the 

frequency of injuries due to forming, 

punching, and shearing machines, even 

though the total number of injuries due 

to machine tools was still quite large 

due to the number of machine tools in 

use. In a 1951 publication entitled 

Machine Tools and their Hazards, 

Bulletin Number 129, the Department 

also noted that the severity of injuries 

due to machine tools was also lower 

than the severity of injuries due to 

forming, punching, and shearing 

machines. 

The NIOSH Report reflects that 

occupational fatality and injury data 

regarding the operation of machine tools 

has changed since the Department 

promulgated HO 8. NIOSH notes that 

the Census of Fatal Occupational 

Injuries (CFOI) identified 31 fatalities 

between 1992 and 1997 associated with 

metal forming, punching, and shearing 

machine operations-machines 

prohibited by HO 8. There were an 

additional 58 fatalities during the same 

period associated with the operation of 

machine tools, including presses, 

metalworking lathes, and machines 

used for grinding and polishing. In 

addition NIOSH notes that injuries 

requiring at least 1 day away from work 

have also been associated with machine 

tools: 1,733 injuries with 7 median days 

away from work for bending, rolling, 

and shaping machines; 2,322 injuries 

with 4 median days away from work for 

grinding and polishing machines; and 

4,183 injuries with 7 median days away 

from work for presses. 

In 1951, the Department, in a 

publication entitled Machine Tools and 

Their Hazards, cited the following 

definition of machine tools provided by 

the National Machine Tool Builders’

Association: ‘‘Machine tools are powerdriven complete metal-working 

machines, not portable by hand, having 

one or more tool- or work-holding 

devices, and used for progressively 

removing metal in the form of chips.’’

Grinding, honing, and lapping machines 

are included in this classification, 

although the chips removed can be seen 

only under the microscope. Machine 

tools can range in size from small bench 

machines, such as a jeweler’s lathe, to 

huge machines weighing 50 tons or 

more. The regulations do not provide a 

list of permitted machine tools, but the 

Department has for many years 

published the following list of common 

machine tools in its Child Labor 

Bulletin 101 (Youth Employment 

Provisions for Nonagricultural 

Occupations under the Fair Labor 

Standards Act): (1) Milling Function 

Machines: horizontal milling machines, 

vertical milling machines, universal 

milling machines, planer-type milling 

machines, gear hobbing machines, 

profilers, and routers; (2) Turning 

Function Machines: engine lathes, turret 

lathes, hollow spindle lathes, automatic 

lathes, and automatic screw machines; 

(3) Planing Function Machines: planers, 

shapers, slotters, broaches, keycasters, 

and hack saws; (4) Grinding Function 

Machines: grinders, abrasive wheels, 

abrasive belts, abrasive disks, abrasive 

points, polishing wheels, buffing 

wheels, stroppers, and lapping 

machines; and (5) Boring Function 

Machines: vertical boring mills, 

horizontal boring mills, jig borers, 

pedestal drills, radial drills, gang drills, 

upright drills, drill presses, centering 

machines, reamers, and honers. 

As a different example, unlike HOs 5 

and 8, HO 14 (Occupations involved in 

the operations of circular saws, band 

saws, and guillotine shears), specifically 

names three types of machines and then 

prohibits their operation by workers 

under 18 years of age regardless of the 

materials being processed. Section 

570.65(b)(4) defines a circular saw to 


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mean a machine equipped with a thin 

steel disc having a continuous serious of 

notches or teeth on the periphery, 

mounted on shafting, and used for 

sawing materials. Section 570.65(b)(5) 

defines a band saw to 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. Section 

570.65(b)(6) defines a guillotine shear to 

mean a machine equipped with a 

moveable blade operated vertically and 

used to shear materials. Because these 

definitions use the all-encompassing 

term ‘‘materials,’’ the application of HO 

14 is not limited by the nature of the 

items being sawed or sheared. 

Therefore, a band saw used for sawing 

beef bones or meat and prohibited by 

HO 10 (Occupations in the operation of 

power-driven meat-processing machines 

and occupations involving slaughtering, 

meat packing or processing, or 

rendering), a band saw used for sawing 

cake and prohibited by HO 11 

(Occupations involved in the operation 

of bakery machines), and a band saw 

used for sawing paper and prohibited by 

HO 12 (Occupations involved in the 

operation of paper-products machines, 

scrap paper balers, and paper box 

compactors) would all be concurrently 

prohibited by HO 14. The Department, 

in an NPRM being published in 

conjunction with and on the same day 

as this ANPRM, is proposing to expand 

the prohibitions of HO 14 to include the 

operation of power-driven chain saws, 

wood chippers, and reciprocating saws. 

In its Report, NIOSH makes several 

recommendations concerning HOs that 

involve power-driven machines. The 

Report recommends that the Department 

expand HO 5 to include similar powerdriven machines used to operate on 

materials other than wood and expand 

HO 8 to include the several types of 

machine tools that are not currently 

prohibited. Alternatively, the Report 

recommends that the Department revise 

HOs 5, 8, and 12 by merging them into 

a single or multiple HOs that address 

the function of the machine (i.e., 

cutting, shaping, forming, grinding, etc.) 

rather than the material being 

processed. The rationale for these 

recommendations is that metal, 

woodworking, and special material 

machinery are associated with 

substantial numbers of worker deaths 

and injuries. In addition, many of the 

hazards inherent in woodworking 

machines are found in machines that 

process other materials. 

The Department is seeking 

information about the appropriateness 

and feasibility of adopting the Report 

recommendations detailed above 

concerning the expansion of HO 5 and 

HO 8. Information concerning whether 

16- and 17-year-olds can safely operate 

metal-working machine tools—which 

are currently permitted by HO 8—is of 

particular interest. In addition, the 

Department is requesting comments on 

whether consideration should be given 

to the recommendation to ban certain 

power-driven machines based on their 

functions rather than the materials they 

are used to process. Could such a 

recommendation be implemented 

without encompassing in its blanket 

prohibitions equipment that 16- and 17- 

year-old workers could, under proper 

circumstances, safely operate? Such 

equipment might include, for example, 

power-driven countertop bagel slicers 

that meet the current definition of 

circular saws under HO 14, powerdriven trimmers and shears used in 

landscaping, and computer-controlled 

lasers that are used to cut, with exacting 

precision, everything from textiles and 

metal to decorative mats used in the 

framing of artwork. 

C. Occupational Radiation Exposures 

HO 6 (Exposure to radioactive 

substances and to ionizing radiations) 

prohibits the employment of workers 

between the ages of 16 and 18 to 

perform any work in any workroom in 

which (1) radium is stored or used in 

the manufacture of self-luminous 

compound; (2) self-luminous compound 

is made, processed, or packaged; (3) 

self-luminous compound is stored, 

used, or worked upon; (4) incandescent 

mantles are made from fabric and 

solutions containing thorium salts, or 

are processed or packaged; and (5) other 

radioactive substances are present in the 

air in average concentrations exceeding 

10 percent of the maximum permissible 

concentrations in the air recommended 

for occupational 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. In addition, HO 6 prohibits the 

employment of such minors in any 

other work that involves exposure to 

ionizing radiations in excess of 0.5 rem 

per year. 

HO 6 became effective on May 1, 1942 

and was amended in 1949, 1957, and 

1961. The study leading to the HO was 

initiated because a number of cases of 

radium poisoning, most of which 

resulted in death, were reported after 

the First World War. Many of these 

poisonings were of young women, and 

in a number of instances exposure began 

before the age of 18 years. The study 

reported that there were four principal 

industrial processes in which 

radioactive substances were found at 

that time: (1) The self-luminous dialpainting industry, which included the 

manufacture of self-luminous 

compound (containing radium or other 

radioactive material), and its application 

to watch, clock, and instrument dials 

and hands, and to other objects such as 

buttons or electric light fixtures; (2) the 

incandescent-mantel industry, which 

involved the impregnation of rayon with 

solutions of thorium nitrate and 

subsequent processing in the course of 

which radioactive emanation escaped 

into the air (incandescent mantles are 

mantles for gas, gasoline, or kerosene 

lamps that provide a brilliant white 

light because of the property of 

incandescence upon heating); (3) 

industrial radiography, in which radium 

was used for the production of 

radiographs by means of which 

imperfections in heavy castings could 

be detected; and (4) the refining of 

radium and mesothorium from 

radioactive ores and sands. 

Although the original investigation 

did not cover the use of radium for 

medical purposes, HO 6 was amended 

in 1957 to include a prohibition 

regarding exposure to ionizing radiation 

and radiations emitted from sealed 

sources of radioactive materials such as 

reactors, accelerators, and X-ray 

machines, and to set permissible limits 

for exposure to radioactivity for minors 

under age 18. HO 6 defines ionizing 

radiation to mean alpha and beta 

particles, electrons, protons, neutrons, 

gamma and X-ray, and all other 

radiations that produce ionizations 

directly or indirectly, but does not 

include electromagnetic radiations other 

than gamma and X-ray. 

HO 6 was amended in 1961 to bring 

the standards in line with changes 

reflected in Handbook No. 69 of the 

Bureau of Standards and with 

recommendations from the Federal 

Radiation Council. Although the 

provisions of the 1961 amendment are 

still contained in HO 6, many things 

have changed. In 1988, the National 

Bureau of Standards became the 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology. Handbook 69, published by 

the National Bureau of Standards, was 

withdrawn and superseded by Report 

No. 022—Maximum Permissible Body 

Burdens and Maximum Permissible 

Concentrations of Radionuclides in Air 

and in Water for Occupational Exposure 

published by the National Council on 

Radiation Protection and Measurements 


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(NCRP). The NCRP, conceived in 1929 

as The Advisory Committee on X-Ray 

and Radium Protection, was chartered 

by Congress in 1964. The mission of the 

NCRP includes the collection, analysis, 

development, and dissemination in the 

public interest of information and 

recommendations about protection 

against radiation and about radiation 

measurements. 

NIOSH recommends in its Report that 

HO 6 be revised to reflect current risks 

to youth for occupational radiation 

exposures. Although employment 

opportunities in the self-luminous 

compound industries have mostly 

disappeared for all workers, NIOSH 

notes that youth are increasingly 

working in such settings as medical or 

veterinary offices where they may be 

exposed to ionizing radiation while 

assisting in diagnostic radiologic 

procedures. Equipment emitting 

ionizing radiation is also used in the 

security screening industry at such 

locations as airports, train and bus 

depots, and cargo loading docks. This 

industry has received widespread 

attention and has grown rapidly both in 

size as well as in technological 

innovation following the events of 

September 11, 2001. 

NIOSH reports that ‘‘risks of 

occupational exposures to ionizing 

radiation in youth stem from concerns 

about increased susceptibility for cell 

damage associated with adolescent 

growth and development, as well as 

concern about increased likelihood for 

disease development with exposures at 

an earlier age.’’ The Report also notes 

that evidence for increased 

susceptibility of youth to ionizing 

radiation has prompted the OSHA and 

the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission to set the maximum 

permissible exposure for youth at 10% 

of the permissible level for adults (0.5 

rem per year and 0.3 rem per quarter). 

The Report recommends that the 

prohibitions of HO 6 be revised to 

include the following wording: 

‘‘Working with any machine that 

generates ionizing radiation, including 

assisting in diagnostic or therapeutic 

radiology procedures involving 

radiation.’’ The Report recommends that 

no apprentice or student-learner 

exemption be created because of the 

increased risk for youth and research 

showing that radiographic equipment 

and procedures frequently do not meet 

national standards. 

The Department is seeking 

information from the public regarding 

the feasibility of adopting the NIOSH 

recommendation. Should a prohibition 

be adopted that does not specify a 

maximum permissible annual exposure 

such as the 0.5 rem per year currently 

contained in the HO? If a maximum 

permissible exposure should be 

specified for young workers, what level 

of exposure is appropriate? In addition, 

the Department is interested in 

documenting the existence of safeguards 

employers and employees can utilize to 

ensure exposures to ionizing radiation 

are kept to permissible levels. 

D. Petroleum and Natural Gas 

Extraction 

HO 9 (Occupations in connection 

with mining, other than coal) generally 

prohibits the employment of 16- and 17- 

year-olds in occupations in connection 

with mining, other than coal mining. 

HO 3 specifically bans the employment 

of such minors in coal mining 

occupations. 

Section 570.60(b) defines the term all 

occupations in connection with mining, 

other than coal, to mean all work 

performed underground in mines and 

quarries; on the surface at underground 

mines and underground quarries; in or 

about open-cut 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 bore-hole 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 a part of a manufacturing 

process. The term does not include 

work performed in subsequent 

manufacturing or processing operations, 

such as work performed in smelters, 

electro-metallurgical plants, refineries, 

reduction plants, cement mills, plants 

where quarried stone is cut, sanded and 

further processed, or plants 

manufacturing clay glass or ceramic 

products. Nor does the term include 

work performed in connection with coal 

mining, in petroleum production, in 

natural-gas production, or in dredging 

operations that are not part of a mining 

operation, such as dredging for 

construction or navigation purposes. 

The NIOSH Report recommends that 

the Department expand the prohibitions 

of HO 9 to include all work performed 

in connection with petroleum and 

natural gas extraction because that 

industry suffers a high rate of 

occupational fatalities and large 

numbers of serious injuries. NIOSH 

reports that the 1992–1997 fatality rate 

for oil and gas extraction—25.8 per 

100,000 workers—was nearly five times 

the fatality rate among workers in all 

industries. Between 1980 and 1989, the 

National Traumatic Occupational 

Fatality Surveillance System identified 

10 fatalities of workers under age 18 in 

the oil and gas extraction sector, 

although no additional fatalities were 

reported through the date of the Report. 

In addition, the Survey of Occupational 

Injuries and Illnesses reflects that in 

1997, the median number of days away 

from work due to injury or illness in 

this sector was 13, almost three times 

the median number of days reported for 

all workers. 

The Department is seeking 

information from the public regarding 

the feasibility of implementing the 

Report’s recommendation to expand the 

prohibitions of HO 9 to include all work 

in connection with petroleum and 

natural gas extraction. Are minors 

currently employed in this industry 

and, if so, what occupations do they 

perform? If the recommendation were 

adopted, how extensive should the 

prohibition be? Should the prohibition 

be industry-wide and cover the refining 

of petroleum and the processing of 

natural gas? Are there some activities 

within the industry that 16- and 17- 

year-olds may safely perform? If so, 

what are they? In keeping with the 

information discussed in Item A of this 

ANPRM, if HO 9 were expanded to 

prohibit work in petroleum and natural 

gas extraction would an exemption for 

student-learners and apprentices be 

appropriate for such work? 

E. Occupations in Construction 

Although Reg. 3 bans the employment 

of 14- and 15-year-olds in almost all 

construction occupations and does not 

permit such youth to work on 

construction sites, there is no such 

blanket prohibition regarding the 

employment of 16- and 17-year-olds. 

Several HOs, however, contain 

prohibitions that limit the tasks and 

types of work that minors may perform 

in the construction industry. 

HO 1 (Occupations in or about plants 

or establishments manufacturing or 

storing explosives or articles containing 

explosive compounds), among other 

things, generally prohibits the 

employment of 16- and 17-year-olds in 

occupations in or about any non-retail 

establishment where explosives or 

materials containing explosive 

compounds are stored. This same HO 

also prohibits the employment of such 

minors in all occupations involved in 

the manufacturing, transporting, or 

handling of primers and all occupations 

involved in the loading, inspecting, 

packing, shipping, and storage of 

blasting caps. HO 5 (Occupations 

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driven woodworking machines) 

prohibits 16- and 17-year-olds from 

operating, including setting up, 

adjusting, repairing, oiling, and 

cleaning, all fixed or portable powerdriven machines or tools used or 

designed for cutting, shaping, forming, 

surfacing, nailing, stapling, wire 

stitching, fastening, or otherwise 

assembling, pressing, or printing wood 

or veneer. HO 7 (Occupations involved 

in the operation of power-driven 

hoisting apparatus) generally prevents 

these same minors from being employed 

to operate elevators, cranes, derricks, 

hoists, and high-lift trucks, including 

forklifts and bobcat loaders. HO 7 also 

prohibits such minors from assisting in 

the operation of cranes, derricks, or 

hoists performed by crane hookers, 

crane chasers, hookers-on, riggers, 

riggers helpers, and similar occupations. 

The use and operation of elevators, 

which are often used in the construction 

of high-rise structures, are also 

prohibited by HO 7. HO 8 (Occupations 

involved in the operation of powerdriven metal forming, punching, and 

shearing machines) prohibits the 

employment of 16- and 17-year-olds in 

occupations involving the operation or 

the assisting in the operation of powerdriven metal rolling, pressing, 

punching, bending, hammering, and 

shearing machines. HO 14 (Occupations 

involved in the operations of circular 

saws, band saws, and guillotine shears) 

prohibits the employment of 16- and 17- 

year-olds as operators or helpers on 

circular saws, band saws, and guillotine 

shears. The prohibitions of this HO 

apply regardless of the material being 

processed (wood, metal, plastic, foam 

rubber, etc.) and extend to the tasks of 

setting up, adjusting, repairing, oiling, 

and cleaning the named equipment. 

HO 15 (Occupations involved in 

wrecking, demolition, and shipbreaking 

operations) prohibits 16- and 17-yearolds from performing all work, 

including clean-up and salvage work, 

performed at the site of the total or 

partial razing, demolishing, or 

dismantling of a building, bridge, 

steeple, tower, chimney, other structure, 

ship, or other vessel. HO 16 

(Occupations in roofing operations and 

on or about a roof) prohibits the 

employment of 16- and 17-year-olds in 

all roofing operations. Roofing 

operations, as defined in § 570.67(b), 

means all work performed in connection 

with the installation of roofs, including 

metal work such as flashing, and 

applying weatherproofing materials and 

substances to roofs of buildings or other 

structures. The term also includes all 

jobs on the ground related to roofing 

operations such as roofing laborer, 

roofing helper, materials handler, and 

tending a tar heater. HO 16 was revised 

in 2004 (69 FR 57404) to also prohibit 

16- and 17-year-olds from performing 

any work on or about a roof. The term 

on or about a roof includes all work 

performed upon or in close proximity to 

a roof, including carpentry and metal 

work, alterations, additions, 

maintenance and repair, including 

painting and coating of existing roofs; 

the construction of the sheathing or base 

of roofs (wood or metal), including roof 

trusses or joists; gutter and downspout 

work; the installation and servicing of 

television and communication 

equipment such as cable and satellite 

dishes; installing and servicing heating, 

ventilation, and air conditioning 

equipment or similar appliances 

attached to roofs; and any similar work 

that is required to be performed on or 

about roofs. HO 17 (Occupations in 

excavation operations) generally 

prohibits the employment of 16- and 17- 

year-olds in excavating, working in, or 

backfilling trenches; excavating for 

buildings or other structures; working 

within tunnels prior to the completion 

of all driving and shoring operations; 

and working within shafts prior to the 

completion of all sinking and shoring 

operations. 

HOs 5, 8, 14, 16, and 17 contain 

exemptions that, under specified terms 

and conditions, permit bona-fide 

student-learners and apprentices to 

perform otherwise prohibited tasks. In 

addition, HO 4 (Logging occupations 

and occupations in the operation of any 

sawmill, lath mill, shingle mill, or 

cooperage stock mill), which generally 

prohibits the employment of 16- and 17- 

year-olds in any occupations within the 

logging and sawmill industries, does 

permit such youth to work in the 

construction, operation, repair, or 

maintenance of living and 

administrative quarters of logging 

camps. This same HO permits 16- and 

17-year-olds to work in the repair or 

maintenance of roads, railroads, and 

flumes-work that could possibly fall 

within a definition of construction. In 

addition, HO 9 (Occupations in 

connection with mining, other than 

coal), which generally prohibits the 

employment of 16- and 17-year-olds in 

mining operations, does permit such 

youth to work in repair maintenance 

shops not located underground, 

maintain living quarters, repair and 

maintain roads, and build and maintain 

sections of railroad tracks under 

specified conditions. The construction 

activities permitted by HO 4 and HO 9 

may be performed by 16- and 17-yearolds only when the tasks do not violate 

the provisions of any other HO. For 

example, although HO 4 would allow a 

16-year-old to be employed to construct 

the living quarters of a logging camp, 

such a minor could not operate a powerdriven circular saw to cut lumber 

because such work is prohibited by both 

HO 5 and HO 14. That same youth 

could not help with the installation or 

repair of the roof of such living quarters 

because such work is prohibited by HO 

16. 

NIOSH recommends that the 

Department establish a new HO 

prohibiting the employment of 16- and 

17-year-olds in all work in construction 

occupations as defined by Bureau of 

Census occupations codes 553–599, 866, 

and 869 as those codes existed prior to 

2000. NIOSH recommends that a 

student-learner and apprentice 

exemption not be incorporated into the 

new HO. 

The occupations that NIOSH 

recommends be prohibited by the new 

HO are brickmasons; stonemasons; tile 

setters (hard and soft); carpet installers; 

carpenters; drywall installers; 

electricians; electrical power installers 

and repairers; painters (construction 

and maintenance); paperhangers; 

plasterers; plumbers; pipefitters; 

steamfitters; concrete and terrazzo 

finishers; glaziers; insulation workers; 

paving, surfacing and tamping 

equipment operators; roofers; 

sheetmetal duct installers; structural 

metal workers; construction workers not 

elsewhere classified; helpers, 

construction trades; and construction 

laborers. NIOSH also recommends that 

supervisors and apprentices associated 

with the occupations listed above be 

included within the scope of the new 

HO’s prohibitions. The NIOSH Report 

makes additional recommendations 

regarding the creation of other new HOs 

that would affect youth employment in 

construction. These include HOs that 

would prohibit the employment of 16- 

and 17-year-olds to work at heights of 

more than six feet; operate heavy 

machinery including earthmoving 

equipment used in excavation, 

landscaping operations, and road 

construction and maintenance; welding; 

and work requiring the use of 

respiratory protection. 

The rationale for creating a new HO 

that would prohibit the employment of 

16- and 17-year-olds in construction 

operations is that workers in many of 

the construction trades have extremely 

high rates of occupational injury 

fatalities and sustain large numbers of 

nonfatal injuries, many of a severe 

nature. NIOSH notes that despite a 

number of existing HOs that address 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 73 / Tuesday, April 17, 2007 / Proposed Rules 19337 

specific types of hazardous 

construction, as discussed above, 

construction work accounts for a 

substantial number of young worker 

deaths. In addition, the Report states 

that construction work is also associated 

with adverse health effects from 

exposure to hazardous substances and 

from musculoskeletal disorders. 

According to NIOSH, some construction 

occupations that have relatively low 

fatal injury rates are associated with 

exposure to other agents that may have 

long-term health effects. Examples 

provided include the exposure to 

asbestos among insulation workers, the 

exposure to lead and solvents among 

painters, and the exposure to silica 

among plasterers and drywall installers. 

NIOSH also states that because 

construction sites frequently include 

hazards outside the control of 

individual workers or contractors, an 

apprentice and student-learner 

exemption is not recommended. 

The Department is aware that the 

construction industry has for many 

years provided both temporary and 

career exploration employment 

opportunities for many youth. The 

Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics 

(BLS) reports that in 2004 there were 

approximately 286,000 youth between 

the ages of 16 and 19 employed in the 

construction industry. In addition, the 

construction industry has traditionally 

been one of the higher-paying industries 

in the U.S., with average hourly 

earnings of $20.40 reported by BLS in 

October 2006. 

The construction industry has many 

components, including residential, 

building (non-residential), highway, and 

heavy sectors. In addition, demolition, 

maintenance, repair, and redecorating 

work often fall within the general 

classification of construction. Before the 

Department can address the Report 

recommendations concerning 

construction occupations, it is 

requesting information from the public 

regarding the appropriateness and 

feasibility of implementing such a 

comprehensive and industry-wide 

prohibition. Can 16- and 17-year-olds, 

under specific conditions, be safely 

employed in certain sectors of the 

construction industry? If so, under what 

conditions? 

The Department is also interested in 

obtaining information about existing 

strategies that make certain construction 

jobs safe for minors to perform. Can 

apprenticeship and student-learner 

programs be designed and delivered to 

better protect young workers and keep 

them safe on the job? If so, should the 

written standards or requirements of 

student-learner and apprenticeship 

programs addressing construction 

occupations have a greater emphasis on 

safety training than similar programs 

covering other industries? 

F. Hydraulic Grease Racks 

HO 7 (Occupations involved in the 

operation of power-driven hoisting 

apparatus) generally prohibits 16- and 

17-year-olds from employment in 

occupations that involve the work of: (1) 

Operating an elevator, crane, derrick, 

hoist, or high-lift truck, except that such 

youth may operate unattended 

automatic operation passenger elevators 

and electric or air operated hoists not 

exceeding one ton capacity; (2) riding 

on a manlift or on a freight elevator, 

except a freight elevator operated by an 

assigned operator; and (3) assisting in 

the operation of a crane, derrick, or 

hoist performed by crane hookers, crane 

chasers, hookers-on, riggers, rigger 

helpers, and like occupations. 

Over the years, the Department has 

received inquiries as to whether HO 7 

would permit the employment of 16- 

and 17-year-olds to operate hydraulic 

grease racks—apparatus usually found 

in gasoline service stations and 

automobile repair shops and used to 

raise and to lower vehicles from ground 

level for servicing the vehicles. The 

Department has been consistent in its 

response to such inquires; because the 

original study that led to the 

promulgation of HO 7 did not include 

the operation of such grease racks, HO 

7 does not prohibit the operation of 

such equipment. Although correct, this 

position does not take into 

consideration whether such grease racks 

can be safely operated by 16- and 17- 

year-olds. Reg. 3, which details the 

occupations 14- and 15-year-olds may 

and may not perform, specifically 

prohibits such youth from the operation 

or tending of any hoisting apparatus (see 

§ 570.33(b)). 

Accordingly, the Department is 

seeking information from the public as 

to whether such grease racks can be 

safely operated by 16- and 17-year-olds. 

Is the safe operation of such equipment 

affected by the size and lifting capacities 

of such equipment? In keeping with 

Item A of this ANPRM, if the operation 

of such grease racks should be 

prohibited, would a student-learner or 

apprenticeship exemption be 

warranted? 

G. General 

In soliciting comments on the above 

aspects of the child labor regulations, 

the Department is specifically interested 

in data, reports, cost-benefit analyses, 

studies, and other documentation 

addressing the positions taken or 

otherwise relating to the Department’s 

objective to develop updated, realistic 

health and safety standards for today’s 

young workers that are consistent with 

the established national policy of 

balancing the benefits of employment 

opportunities for youth with the 

necessary and appropriate safety 

protections. 

This document was prepared under 

the direction and control of Paul 

DeCamp, Administrator, Wage and Hour 

Division, Employment Standards 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Labor. 

List of Subjects in 29 CFR Part 570 

Child labor, Child labor occupations, 

Employment, Government, 

Intergovernmental relations, 

Investigations, Labor, Law enforcement, 

Minimum age. 

Signed at Washington, DC, on this 10th day 

of April, 2007. 

Victoria A. Lipnic, 

Assistant Secretary, Employment Standards 

Administration. 

Paul DeCamp, 

Administrator, Wage and Hour Division. 

[FR Doc. E7–7052 Filed 4–16–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–27–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Wage and Hour Division 

29 CFR Part 570 

RIN 1215–AB57 

Child Labor Regulations, Orders and 

Statements of Interpretation 

AGENCY: Wage and Hour Division, 

Employment Standards Administration, 

Labor. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

and request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor 

(Department or DOL) is proposing to 

revise the child labor regulations in 

order to implement an amendment to 

the Fair Labor Standards Act’s child 

labor provisions, contained in the 

Department of Labor Appropriations 

Act, 2004 (Pub. L. 108–199), which 

authorizes under specified conditions 

the employment of certain youth 

between the ages of 14 and 18 years 

inside and outside of places of business 

that use machinery to process wood 

products. 

The Department is proposing to revise 

Child Labor Regulation No. 3, subpart C 

of 29 CFR part 570, which governs the 

employment of 14- and 15-year-olds in 

nonagricultural occupations by revising 

the lists of occupations and industries 


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