Understanding Pennsylvania Work Age Laws
The general notion behind labor laws that pertain to minors is to strike a balance between providing children and young adults with opportunities to gain experience in the workforce, thereby ensuring that they are better prepared for future careers, while at the same time providing sufficient protections against exploitation and other forms of mistreatment in the workplace. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), governs the minimum working age for minors employed by businesses engaged in interstate or foreign commerce and by schools, hospitals, institutions of higher education, and any other employers that are subject to specific government contracts or purchases. It is important to note, however , that the FLSA does not set a minimum working age for all employers.
The concept of establishing minimum working ages for private employers varies by state. According to the United States Department of Labor, Pennsylvania law is actually considered to be one of the strictest in the country with respect to regulating employment of minors, with the general rule being that any worker under the age of 18 cannot be employed without a permit. With respect to Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry, a child is defined as a "person under 18 years of age." However, the 1955 Pennsylvania Child Labor Act prohibits the employment of children who are less than 16 years of age (with narrow exceptions). State employers are also free to set an even higher minimum working age.
Minimum Work Age for Employment
In Pennsylvania, the minimum legal age for employment is fourteen years of age. Students aged 14-17 years may be employed in all occupations except those declared hazardous by the Secretary of Labor and Industry. Any employment that falls into a hazardous category requires a permit that outlines specific restrictions as to the use of hazardous chemicals or around certain machines. More stringent child labor laws are in place in Pennsylvania than in many other states, and anyone in violation of Pennsylvania’s laws may be subject to fines and/or imprisonment.
It is also important to note that local ordinances such as no worker under eighteen years of age shall be employed at any ice cream stand or refreshment stand night stand in Allegheny County. A few local ordinances restrict workers under eighteen from working as cashiers or managers at food and convenience stores, or in certain locations.
Jobs Pennsylvania Minors Can Do
In the state of Pennsylvania, although there are numerous occupations where minors are legally permitted to work, those opportunities depend in part on the age of the minor. In those instances where minors are permitted to work in as little invasive environments as being in a manufacturing facility (such as a food manufacturing facility), the minority of the worker is also a deciding factor. The most common types of jobs appropriate for young people in the state of Pennsylvania are those that fall within the retail and service spaces, such as clerks, waiters, busboys, and other such positions.
Pennsylvania does allow minors to work in gas stations along with, of course, the broad category of manufacturing and processing facilities that are targeted towards non-hazardous materials. That said, while there may be a wide range of manufacturing workers that are permitted to work in Pennsylvania, those that involve the creation of machines and other such items that involve working with metal, electricity, and other such hazardous materials, are far more restricted than retail and service workers. To that end, young people can be employed in a wide range of diverse employment opportunities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, when it comes to both adult and minor workers.
Restrictions on 14 and 15-Year-Olds
As a minor employee, there are further restrictions on your hours of employment. No matter what age you are, if you are under 16, or still required to attend school, you may not work after 11:00 p.m. If you are 16 or 17, you are not permitted to work during school hours, from 6:00 a.m. until 7:00 a.m., or after midnight on school nights.
Even within the allowed hours, there are restrictions on the type of occupation for which a minor is eligible for hire. The Pennsylvania Child Labor Act prohibits minors from working in dangerous conditions, and prevents employment that may interfere with their education or health. To further this goal, minors under 18 are prohibited from working in such occupations as street hawking, population sampling, and modeling. Other limited occupations include using machinery, manufacturing, construction, scaffolding, mining, working with power-driven equipment or power tools, wrecking, demolition, working with dangerous chemicals, operating elevators and hoists, commercial motor vehicle operation, cooking with a fryer or grill, on a swimming pool slide, dissolving certain substances, or as a lifeguard. All of these are considered hazardous occupations for a minor.
In addition to these prohibited occupations, minors under 16 may only perform certain tasks within the business. Minors under 16 may deliver food off the business premises only if they are accompanied by an adult. Further, minors may not sell or distribute products, unless they are prepared to do so in a separate space from the main store, and cannot store or package these products. Minors are also prohibited from attending to the needs of patrons, performing maintenance, operating a cash register, stocking shelves, and working in other areas adjacent to the business. Minors are also prohibited from being working in confined spaces, even within their allowed occupations.
Work Permit Guidelines for Minors
Employers wanting to remove the age question from their application process often consider the Department of Labor’s (DOL) limited age-related restrictions. Many industries are exempt, and companies frequently utilize these exemptions, particularly in the food industry, without realizing that removing the age question from their employment applications could have other consequences.
Pennsylvania is not one of the states exempt from DOL recordkeeping requirements. Any employer covered under the child labor provisions must obtain and keep on file a work permit for each minor worker in his employ. A minor is any person under the age of 18, but less than 16 years of age may not work more than 48 hours per week. The employer is responsible for obtaining the work permit prior to the employment of the minor worker.
Each county maintains a register of minors authorized to work in that county. Employers may visit the register and request certified copies of authorizations for employment or they may submit to the register a written request for certification which provides the following information: The register will then issue a work permit. If a company is unable to locate the register of minors, the Director of the Bureau of Child Labor Law Compliance may be able to assist. A minor may not be paid until the employer has secured the work permit.
Once there has been a determination that there are no infractions of child labor laws, the employer must obtain the employment permit, which must be signed by the employer (or an officer), the minor , and his parent or guardian (or emancipated minor). If the employer is located in a different county than the minor, such as the case for a work permit for a job that is temporary for only the summer, he should send the minor to the register of minors in the county of residence to obtain approval and signature. The employer then provides both the approved work permit and the minor’s employment permit to the Director of the Bureau of Child Labor Law Compliance. The employer should maintain copies of the approved work permit and the employment permit.
An employer may realize that its workforce includes minors and that it must come into compliance with child labor laws as outlined above. It could also be that an existing employee notifies the employer that required work permits have not been secured.
The company should document these facts about the employee, such as the date of hire, date of discovery of the minor’s status, all dates of payment, and the amount paid. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Bureau of Child Labor Law Compliance is the only agency in Pennsylvania authorized to levy fines for child labor law violations. Accordingly, the company should not attempt to pay back wages and report the matter to the BCOLLC. The application for a waiver must include evidence of compliance with the relevant child labor laws by the employer. This could mean waivers for every single week of employment are submitted. However, keeping a complete copy of the work permit records, employment government, and waiver application would be critical for an accurate and efficient response to the BCOLLC.
Penalties for Non-Conformance
One of the primary requirements of the Pennsylvania Child Labor Law ("CLL") is that an employer must have a valid Chld Labor Work Permit before they can employ a worker under age 18. The permits are issued to minors by the school district in which they reside after verification of eligibility. Not only is this true for workers under the age of 18, but also for the workers age 18 and older who are employed in a job that is considered a hazardous occupation. Hazardous occupations include tunnel and shaft work, exposure to radioactive substances, operating power driven hoisting apparatus, and work in foundries, rubber and tire manufacturing, cement manufacturing, manufacturing of brick, tile and similar products, operations involving mechanical power, wrecking, demolition and blasting operations, power-driven bakery machine operations, laundry work, meat packing, and other jobs deemed to be hazardous for workers to perform. This is true even if the minor is 16 years or older.
Employers (and parents) that fail to comply with CLL requirements will face a variety of consequences. Ultimately, the parent and child could be subject to jail time and/or fines for non-compliance, but the employer should be equally concerned about the impact on the company. For instance, an employer who fails to obtain a valid work permit for a minor may be prohibited from making any claim for the breach of any term or condition of any contract arising out of the employment of such minor. An example of this might be the parents of a minor who is injured on the job and seeks compensation and the employer counterclaim for breach of contract of employment to be determined, finds its claim dismissed because they were employed without a valid work permit.
Employers who violate state and federal child labor laws also risk fines and civil penalties from Wage and Hour and the Department of Labor. For instance, violation of the "hours restrictions" for 16 and 17 year old employees can lead to both civil and criminal actions, including $50 and 30 days in jail for a first-time offense. Violations of the hours restrictions for a 9-13 year old employee can result in fines of $100 and 90 days in jail for each child.
Resources for Young Workers
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry oversees employment of minors in the Commonwealth. The department provides resources for both employers employing young workers and young people themselves to learn about working laws in Pennsylvania. Their website contains information about the hours of work for minors, including minimum age requirements for each industry, acceptable duties for minors, and a list of all forms of minors employment permits. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Labor has published a Handbook for Young Workers, which is available in both English and Spanish . While the Handbook is a bit dated, as it cites to the prior version of the FLSA regulations, it otherwise provides a good overview of what is and is not permitted under federal labor law. Ultimately, young workers are best served by being informed about the restrictions on their employment. Likewise, employers are best served in understanding whether the positions they are hiring for are appropriate for a minor. If you are a minor or parent of a minor that has been engaged in work that you believe might be outside of the bounds of the law in Pennsylvania, we would be happy to discuss your situation with you.
