The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 set federal legal standards to differentiate child labor apart from adult workers, establishing a set of regulations for employees under the age of 18. While the law does allow for the type of work being performed to be segmented by age groups, all of the child labor laws are inherently designed to protect children and violations can be significant.

Under the law, there are two specific categories child labor laws address; the first is work performed within an agricultural environment, the second is work performed outside an agricultural environment.


Agricultural Work Environment:

Children under the age of 16 years old can not perform specific occupations that the Department of Labor has deemed hazardous. This includes an extensive list of machinery that can not be operated by children under the age of 16.

Title 29, U.S. Code, Section 201 et seq., 29 CFR 570-580.

Beyond the specific occupational limits set by the Department of Labor above, there are no limitations for child labor within agricultural work "outside school hours" if the child employee is:

• At least 14 years old,



• Ages 12 thru 13 with parental or legal guardian consented, or the parent or legal guardian is employed on the same farm as the child,



• Ages 10 thru 11 with the employer having been granted a waiver by the Department of Labor for the child employee for hand harvest labor, and during a period of no more then eight weeks in any calendar year,



• Ages 11 and under can be employed by the parent or legal guardian on a farm owned by the parent or legal guardian, or with the consent of the parent or legal guardian on a farm that qualifies for the "man days" exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

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