Employment of Student-Learners, Employment of Apprentices, Employment of Learners, Employment of Messengers, and Employment of Student Workers

The Department of Labor is removing the regulation found at 29 CFR Part 527 and consolidating the regulations found at 29 CFR Parts 520, 521, 522, and 523, into a single Part 520. These rules were promulgated under section 14(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and provided for employment under special certificates of categories of workers who may be paid less than the statutory minimum wage to prevent the curtailment of employment opportunities. These workers include apprentices, messengers and learners, including student-learners and student-workers. Employers must apply for special certificates issued by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor which state the terms and conditions of employment at subminimum wages. Many of the provisions of these individual regulations were duplicative and have been merged into one comprehensive document. The language and context of the rules have been simplified, shortened and formatted to make them easier to use while the essential requirements of the regulations have been maintained. The substantive criteria used to determine an employer's eligibility to receive a certificate under these programs remain generally unchanged.