The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Child Labor Provisions

Summary

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 prohibits the employment of “oppressive child labor” in the United States, which the act defines—with some exceptions—as the employment of youth under the age of 16 in any occupation or the employment of youth under 18 years old in hazardous occupations. The act includes several exemptions, however, that create a complex set of thresholds that depend on the child’s age, local school hours, the nature of the work (e.g., occupation, industry, and work environment), parental involvement in the child’s employment, and other factors. Notably, exemptions to the act’s child labor provisions create separate rules governing children’s employment in agriculture and in non-agricultural work.

For non-exempt children, the minimum age for employment in non-agricultural occupations is

18 years for hazardous occupations;

16 years for employment in non-hazardous occupations; and

14 years for a limited set of occupations, with restrictions on hours and work conditions.

With some exceptions, the minimum age for employment in agricultural occupations is

16 years for employment in any agricultural job, including hazardous agricultural occupations, with no restrictions on hours of work;

14 years for employment in non-hazardous agricultural jobs outside of school hours; and

any age, for employment in non-hazardous agricultural jobs, outside of school hours, with parental consent, when certain conditions are met concerning farm size, the nature and duration of work, and other requirements.

The FLSA provisions prohibit (1) the employment of oppressive child labor for children covered by the act, and (2) the interstate shipment of goods produced in an establishment in or about which oppressive child labor is employed. But not all work performed by underage children is unlawful under the act.

The FLSA authorizes the Secretary of Labor to conduct workplace inspections and investigations to determine if oppressive child labor is present and enforce the child labor provisions. The Secretary may assess civil money penalties to employers who violate the provisions or pursue action in federal courts.

Employers who violate the FLSA child labor provisions may be assessed a civil penalty of

up to $11,000 for each employee who was the subject of a child labor violation, or

up to $50,000 for each violation that causes the death or serious injury of a minor employee; a penalty may be doubled if the violation is a repeated or willful violation.

Since FY2007, the Department of Labor (DOL) has concluded more than 9,700 cases in which employers violated FLSA child labor provisions.

U.S. district courts have jurisdiction to enjoin violations of the FLSA’s child labor provisions. Criminal penalties are also prescribed for willful violations of the FLSA’s child labor provisions. Any person who willfully violates these provisions will, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not more than $10,000, imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.

Since the enactment of the FLSA, various courts have resolved cases involving the meaning and operation of the law’s child labor provisions. Early cases focused on the movement of goods produced by minors and whether an employer’s activities were restricted by the provisions. More recent cases have examined the direct employment of minors in oppressive child labor. Although there do not appear to be a substantial number of recent reported cases, DOL continues to pursue enforcement of the child labor provisions through litigation, as evidenced by court filings in 2015.

This report describes the FLSA child labor provisions, accompanying DOL regulations, and their administration. Taken together, these constitute what is commonly known as “federal child labor law.” In addition, all states have child labor laws, compulsory schooling requirements, and other laws that govern children’s employment and activities. No state law may weaken the worker protections provided by the FLSA. However, state laws that impose greater worker protections will supersede those provided by the FLSA. Such state protections are not discussed in this report.