Every year, millions of teens work in part-time 

or summer jobs. Early work experiences can be 

rewarding for young workers—providing great 

opportunities for teens to learn important work 

skills. 

Through the YouthRules! initiative, the U. S. 

Department of Labor and its strategic partners seek 

to promote positive and safe work experiences for 

young workers. YouthRules! strives to educate 

teens, parents, educators, employers, and the 

public on Federal and State rules regarding young 

workers. Components of the initiative include a 

website located at www.youthrules.dol.gov, printed 

materials like this guide, outreach events, training 

seminars, and partnering activities. 

This guide outlines what teens can and cannot do in 

agricultural jobs and when they can work. A separate 

guide exists for non-agricultural jobs. In addition to 

presenting proven tips that will help ensure teens 

learn the habit of good workplace safety, this guide 

also provides important information about accessing 

State youth employment standards and occupational 

safety and health provisions. YouthRules! helps 

all of us work together to ensure young workers 

have safe and rewarding employment experiences. 

A Quick Look at the 

Fair Labor Standards Act 

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) youth employment 

provisions for agriculture are designed to protect young 

workers by limiting the types of jobs and the periods of time 

they may work. The provisions differ based on the age of the 

minor. Agriculture includes farming in all its branches when 

performed by a farmer or on a farm as an incident to or in 

conjunction with such farming operations. 

The Federal Youth Employment 

Provisions for Agriculture Are: 

16 Years of Age 

Once a youth reaches 16 years of age, he or she is no longer 

subject to the Federal agricultural youth employment provisions. Remember, in non-agriculture work a youth must be 

18 to no longer be subject to the FLSA youth employment 

provisions. 

14 and 15 Years of Age 

14- and 15-year-olds may work outside of school hours in any 

agricultural occupation except those declared hazardous by the 

Secretary of Labor. 

12 and 13 Years of Age 

12- and 13-year-olds may work outside of school hours in any 

non-hazardous agricultural job with written parental consent 

or on a farm that also employs their parent(s) or person standing in place of the parent(s). 

12 is generally the minimum age for employment in agriculture 

however there are a few exceptions. 

Employment on Small Farms 

Youth under 12 years of age may be employed on small farms 

outside of school hours in any non-hazardous agricultural job, 

with parental consent. 

Small farms are defined as those that did not utilize more than 

500 “man days” of agricultural labor in any calendar quarter 

of the preceding calendar year. A “man day” is defined as any 

day during which an employee performs agricultural work for 

at least one hour. 

Hazardous Occupations 

Eleven hazardous farm jobs, as determined by the Secretary of 

Labor, are prohibited for young workers below the age of 16. 

Generally, youth may not work at jobs that involve: 

1. Operating a tractor of over 20 Power Take Off (PTO) 

horsepower, or connecting or disconnecting an implement 

or any of its parts to or from such a tractor; *+ 

2. Operating or working with a corn picker, cotton picker, 

grain combine, hay mower, forage harvester, hay baler, 

potato digger, mobile pea viner, feed grinder, crop dryer, 

forage blower, auger conveyor, unloading mechanism of 

a nongravity-type self-unloading wagon or trailer, power 

post-hole digger, power post driver, or nonwalking-type 

rotary tiller; *+ 

3. Operating or working with a trencher or earthmoving 

equipment; fork lift; potato combine; or power-driven 

circular, band or chain saw; * 

4. Working in a yard, pen, or stall occupied by a bull, boar, or 

stud horse maintained for breeding purposes; a sow with 

suckling pigs; or a cow with a newborn calf (with umbilical 

cord present); * 

5. Felling, bucking, skidding, loading, or unloading timber 

with a butt diameter of more than 6 inches; * 

6. Working from a ladder or scaffold at a height of over 20 

feet; * 

7. Driving a bus, truck, or automobile to transport passengers, or riding on a tractor as a passenger or helper; 

8. Working inside a fruit, forage, or grain storage designed to 

retain an oxygen-deficient or toxic atmosphere; an upright 

silo within 2 weeks after silage has been added or when 

a top unloading device is in operating position; a manure 

pit; or a horizontal silo while operating a tractor for packing purposes; 

9. Handling or applying toxic agricultural chemicals identified 

by the word “poison” or “warning,” or identified by a 

“skull or crossbones” on the label; 

10. Handling or using explosives; 

11. Transporting, transferring, or applying anhydrous 

ammonia. 

* Limited exemptions are provided for Student-Learners under specified standards. 

+ Limited exemptions are provided for 14- and 15-year-old minors holding certificates of 

training under a 4-H Vocational Agriculture Training Program or U. S. Office of Education 

Vocational Agriculture Training Program. 

The prohibition of employment in hazardous occupations does 

not apply to youths employed on farms owned or operated 

by their parent(s) or persons standing in place of parent(s). 

State Youth Employment Provisions 

Every State has its own youth employment provisions and 

when these differ from the Federal provisions, employers must 

abide by the more protective standard. To find information 

about your State’s youth employment provisions, visit the 

YouthRules! Website at www.youthrules.dol.gov. 

Rev. June 2012 - WH1510 

Visit youthrules.dol.gov 

U.S. Department of Labor 

www.dol.gov/whd 

1-866-4US-WAGE 

(1-866-487-9243) 

Disclaimer 

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 publication 

of 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 sources for 

regulatory information published by the Department 

of Labor. We will make every effort to correct errors 

brought to our attention. 
 

 

Employer’s Safety Checklist 

for Young Workers 

To be sure, some tasks and tools present more of a hazard than 

1. Double Check Tasks 

Supervisors and co-workers can help compensate for inexperience by showing teens how to do the job correctly. What may 

be obvious to an experienced employee may not be clear to 

a teen tackling a task for the first time. Time spent showing 

Resources to Tap 

For information about employment standards that apply 

to young workers or about YouthRules!, contact the 

Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division toll free at 

4. Set up a Safety and Health 

Program 

A strong safety and health program involving every worker at 

your business is your best defense against workplace injuries. 

Let everyone know you are serious about complying with all 

others. Many hazardous activities are limited or prohibited for 

young people by the FLSA, (which are listed in this guide). 

But employers can take some simple steps to prevent injuries 

to working teens. 

★ Understand and comply with the Federal and State youth 

employment and occupational safety and health rules. 

★ Stress safety, particularly among first-line supervisors who 

have the greatest opportunity to influence youth and their 

work habits. They are important role models. Make sure that 

young workers are appropriately trained and supervised to 

prevent injuries and hazardous exposures. 

★ Work with supervisors and experienced workers to develop 

an injury and illness prevention program and to help identify 

and solve safety and health problems. Many injuries can be 

prevented through simple work redesign. 

★ Train young workers to recognize hazards and to use safe 

work practices. This is especially important since young 

people often have little work experience and new workers 

are at a disproportionate risk of injury. 

★ Make sure young workers know the Federal and State youth 

employment rules and frequently remind them that they 

must be obeyed. Let them know safety is a priority. 

Preparing Young Workers 

to Work Safely 

Young workers want to do a good job, but they need help to 

work safely. Their inexperience works against them and they 

may not feel comfortable asking questions. Employers should 

take the following four steps to help prepare youth to work 

safely. What they learn, they will take with them throughout 

their working lives. 

a young worker the best way to handle a job will be paid 

back three-fold through work done right and without harm to 

products or injury to the worker. Training youth to work safely 

is a multi-step process: 

★ Give them clear instructions and tell them what safety 

precautions to take. 

★ Ask them to repeat your instructions and give them an 

opportunity to ask questions. 

★ Show them how to perform the task. 

★ Then watch them as they do it, correcting any mistakes. 

★ Finally, ask if they have any additional questions. 

Once young workers know what to do and have demonstrated 

that they can do the job right, check again later to be sure 

they are continuing to do the task correctly. Don’t let them 

take short cuts with safety. Be sure, too, that supervisors and 

co-workers set a good example by following all the appropriate 

rules as well. 

2. Show Them How to Use Safety 

Equipment 

The FLSA prohibits young workers from doing tasks identified 

as particularly hazardous, which are listed in this guide. This 

does not eliminate every hazard; however, and some youth 

may still need to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) 

such as safety shoes, hard hats, or gloves, depending on the 

nature of the work. Be sure that the teens know when they 

need to wear protective gear, where to find it, how to use it, 

and how to care for it. 

3. Prepare Teens for Emergencies 

Every worker needs to be ready to handle an emergency. You 

should prepare your young workers to face any risks that may 

affect your business. Youths also need to know who to go to 

if an injury should occur and they need first aid or medical care. 

youth employment provisions. 

Good Ideas from Other Employers 

Take advantage of others’ experiences. Here are some 

examples of compliance tips that are being used successfully 

by employers across the country. 

★ One employer issues teens a laminated, pocket-sized 

“Minor Policy Card” on the first day of work. The card 

explains the firm’s policy and requirements for complying 

with the youth employment rules. A sample card for 

nonagricultural work is available on the YouthRules! 

website at www.youthrules.dol.gov. 

★ Employers have found that by supplying a safe area with 

supervised activities (for children of agricultural workers 

who accompany their parents to the farm but are too 

young to work legally) they reduce the risk of “suffering or 

permitting” underage children to work and reduce the risk 

of injuries. 

★ Some employers place special “Warning Stickers” on 

equipment that young workers may not legally operate or 

clean. As part of YouthRules!, the Department of Labor 

is making these stickers available to employers. In addition, 

these stickers can be downloaded at www.youthrules. 

dol.gov. 

★ Employers have also found that by having a supervisory 

presence in the field at all times, parents may not be as 

likely to bring underage children into the field with them. 

(866) 4USWAGE or (866) 487-9243. 

You can also obtain both general and detailed information about the youth employment provisions by visiting our 

YouthRules! Website at www.youthrules.dol.gov. 

State youth employment rules can also be accessed through 

this Website. In addition, this website provides links to several 

departmental sites including: 

★ Wage and Hour Division (WHD) 

(www.dol.gov/whd), which enforces Federal minimum 

wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment 

provisions of the FLSA. WHD also enforces the Migrant and 

Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee 

Polygraph Protection Act, and the Family and Medical 

Leave Act. 

★ Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration (OSHA) 

(www.osha.gov) which provides detailed information 


on safety standards, technical advisors, compliance 


assistance,and many other materials.
 

You may also wish to visit the following sites (which are not 

Department of Labor Websites): 

★ United States Department of Agriculture 

(www.nifa.usda.gov/funding/rfas/youth_farm.html) whose 

Farm Safety Program provides information on Youth Farm 

Safety Education and Certification Programs. 

★ National Institute for Occupational Safety 

and Health (NIOSH) 

(www.cdc.gov/niosh) which provides detailed information 

about the prevention of work-related disease and injury. 

youthrules.dol.gov 

AGRICULTURAL 

EMPLOYER’S 

POCKET GUIDE 

ON YOUTH 

EMPLOYMENT 

U. S. Department of Labor