Child Labor Regulations, Orders and Statements of Interpretation; Child Labor Violations-Civil Money Penalties

This document revises the child labor regulations in order to implement two amendments of the Fair Labor Standards Act's child labor standards--the Compactors and Balers Safety Standards Modernization Act, (August 6, 1996) (The Compactor and Baler Act); and the Drive for Teen Employment Act, (October 31, 1998). This document also revises procedural regulations dealing with administrative hearings and appeals of civil money penalties. The Compactor and Baler Act sets conditions which permit 16- and 17-year-old workers to load, but not operate or unload, certain scrap paper balers and paper box compactors. The Act also specifies that civil money penalties may be assessed for violations of these conditions. This document also revises the regulation to implement the provisions of this Act. The Drive for Teen Employment Act prohibits minors under 17 years of age from driving automobiles and trucks on public roadways on the job, and establishes the conditions and criteria under which 17-year-olds may drive automobiles and trucks on public roadways on the job. The regulation is also revised to implement the provisions of this Act. A regulation concerning government-issued Certificates of Age is also being revised. Prior to this Final Rule, the regulation required that the employer return the certificate to the issuing agency when the employee left employment, except that a certificate issued for employment in agriculture may be given to the named minor at termination of employment and a certificate issued to an 18- or 19- year-old shall be given to the named worker at termination of employment. This revision modifies the regulation to direct the employer to give the certificates to the employees when their employment ends. Further, the Department is revising the regulation regarding the types of cooking and cooking-related duties that 14- and 15-year-olds may perform. The Department is updating the regulation to modify a long-standing Department of Labor (DOL) interpretati