Wisconsin's current child labor law allows little flexibility for schools to engage students in work-related activities at school as restitution for misbehavior. The new rule would give schools more flexibility by establishing certain conditions under which student activities at school are not considered employment for purposes of child labor and minimum wage laws. The proposal comes on the heels of a recent complaint filed with DWD's Equal Rights Division against a Monona school for making a grade school student work to pay for library material he had damaged. The student's father filed a complaint claiming the school's action violated Wisconsin child labor laws. Our laws should allow room for common sense, and this rule change will do that.
Federal law is more flexible than the current state law.
Current state administrative rules on labor standards and child labor do not contain specific provisions for students who perform services such as minor clerical work in the school office or library. However, the federal law has a provision stating student activities of this type should not be treated as employment under the wage and hour laws as long as certain conditions are met. Federal law allows students to work no more than an hour a day, five days a week to pay for misbehavior. Stewart said that the proposed state rule change would bring the state law in line with the federal law. DWD is proposing to adopt the same federal standards by providing that a student activity will not be treated as employment if the activity has an educational benefit for the student, does not add more than one hour to the school day and does not cause the displacement of a regular employee.