Child Labor Law Guidelines

There are laws in place to ensure that children have the opportunity to receive an education before joining the work force. Many high school students seek out jobs in an effort to become more financially independent and learn to support themselves, however their supervisors must adhere to the strict regulations in place to monitor the amount of time minors spend working. Any management found disregarding child labor laws may be facing serious penalties. If you or someone you love has been subjected to illegal working conditions, you may be able to take legal action against the responsible party.

Information about Child Labor Laws

Each state has its own laws in place to oversee the specifics regarding child labor laws, although there are federal regulations that are the same in every state. These generally pertain to children who are under a certain age, although this number may fluctuate depending on the location and type of work. The Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, says that youth 14 and 15 years old:

May not work during regularly scheduled school hours May not work more than three hours on each school day May not work more than eight hours each weekend day May not exceed 18 hours of work during the school week or 40 hours during a non school week May only work between 7am and 7pm during the school year or 7am and 9pm during the non school months

Once a child has reached the age of 16, he or she is exempt from child labor laws. It is important to note that these restrictions apply only to non-agricultural work. Restrictions for agricultural employees may be slightly different.

Contact Us

For more information regarding child labor laws and your legal rights, contact the Houston employment attorneys of the Ross Law Group.

What Is a Labor Law Poster?

We have all seen Labor Law posters in our break rooms or bathrooms. These are usually about 3ft x 2ft poster. Have you ever read what it actually says on it? Do you know why is it so important for every business to have it posted?

Well, here are some important points about the requirements of Labor Law postings. Lets start with where do they come from and who mandates them. OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration ) requires every business in the United States, that has employees, to post employee rights in a conspicuous place. Some rights are mandated by Federal law, and others by State law. Every state is required to post Federal employee regulations.

You DO NOT need to post employee regulations ONLY if: 1. you have no employees 2. you have only contract employees or volunteers 3. your business is family owned.

There are 9 required Federal postings. Some of them are: -Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law -Federal Minimum Wage 2009 -Employment and Reemployment Rights Act -Employee Polygraph Protection Act -Anti-Discrimination Notice and some others.

State requirements are different in every state. If your business contains 10% or more Spanish (as their native language) speaking employees and is located in the following states AZ, CA, FL, GA, NM, NC, NY, TX you are required to post employee regulations in both English and Spanish language. However, this rule does not apply to any other languages.

Did you know that The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 (EPPA) prevents employers from using lie detector tests, either for pre-employment screening or during employment with certain exemptions? Employers generally may not require or request any employee to take a lie detector test, or discriminate against an employee, or job applicant who refuses to take a test, or for exercising other rights under the Act. Every employer is required to display the EPPA poster in the workplace for their employees.

Another interesting fact: an employer is not allowed to discriminate a person because of his/her age during hiring. (Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law)

All these laws have to be displayed and all of the employees must have access to them. Knowing your rights is a vital part of every employee to employer relation.