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| Issue: |
Your organization is proud of its under-20 employees. Your office is charged with making sure these young workers understand safety rules and know what jobs they may not perform. You recently heard that the Department of Labor published new work rules for youths and you wonder how the new rules affect your current practices. What do the new rules require? |
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Answer: |
On December 16, 2004, the Department of Labor (DOL) published final regulations implementing changes to employment rules for youths. The new rules expand protections for youths working in restaurant cooking, roofing and driving, among other changes.
The rules incorporate into the regulations the provisions of two statutory amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act that deal with driving and the operation of compactors and balers by teenage employees—the Drive for Teen Employment Act (October 31, 1998) and the Compactors and Balers Safety Standards Modernization Act (August 6, 1996).
The first statutory change established criteria permitting 16- and 17-year-olds to load, but not operate or unload, certain waste-material baling and compacting equipment. The second statutory change delineated what limited on-the-job driving may be performed by qualified 17-year-olds.
Provisions are also included to modernize the youth employment provisions regarding what types of cooking 14- and 15-year olds are permitted to perform. The new rules now permit those minors to clean and maintain cooking devices in some situations.
In addition, the rules expand the current prohibition against youths under age 18 working in roofing occupations to encompass all work on or about a roof, including work performed upon or in close proximity to a roof. Under the new provisions, youths may only perform such work if in an apprenticeship or student-learner program.
The complete text of the rule is available in the Federal Register, online at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html, and on the DOL’s website at http://www.dol.gov. The DOL also has revised existing compliance assistance materials to comport with these new rules. These materials may be found at http://www.youthrules.dol.gov and http://www.wagehour.dol.gov. Information may also be obtained by calling the DOL’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243).
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