Almost all minors under the age of 18 are subject to California’s child labor protections. Under the California Labor Code, "minor" means any person under the age of 18 years who is required to attend school under the provisions of the Education Code, and includes minors under age six. Nonresidents of the state who would be subject to California’s compulsory education laws if they were residents are also considered minors and are subject to all the requirements and protections of the Labor Code [LC 1286(c)] (See Chapter 3 of this digest). The Labor Code definition means, for example, that high school graduates under the age of 18, who are not subject to the compulsory education laws, are entirely excluded from permit requirements, workhour restrictions, and all occupational prohibitions. However, under federal regulation high school graduates may not be employed in an occupation prohibited to minors under 18 unless they have also completed a bona fide course of training in that occupation [29 CFR 570.50]. "Dropouts" are still subject to California’s compulsory education laws, and thus are subject to all state child labor requirements (See Chapter 2 of this digest). Emancipated minors are subject to all California’s child labor laws, except that they may apply for a work permit without their parents’ permission [FC 7050] (See Chapter 3 of this digest).

Minors aged six through 15 years must attend school full-time unless the minor is a high school graduate [EC 49110], attends an approved alternative school [EC 48224], is tutored [EC 48224], is on an approved leave of absence [EC 48232], has transferred from another state with less than 10 days left in the school year [EC 48231], or has justifiable personal reasons requested by the parent and approved by the principal including, illness, court appearances, religious observances and retreats, funerals, or employment conferences [EC 48205]. In rare circumstances, 14 and 15-year-olds enrolled in Work Experience Education may be granted a permit to work full-time during school hours [EC 49130] (See Chapter 5 of this digest).

Sixteen and seventeen-year-olds, who have not graduated from high school or who have not received a certificate of proficiency may opt to attend part-time classes. Those who are regularly employed must attend continuation classes for at least four hours per week. Those not regularly employed must attend continuation classes for at least 15 hours per week [EC 48400 and 48402]. No minor may legally drop out of school entirely.

Note: Schools may excuse the absences of a pupil who holds an entertainment work permit or who participates with a not-for-profit arts organization in a performance for a public school audience. For additional information, refer to the section entitled, "Excused School Absences," in Chapter 9 of this digest.

Overview

Except in limited circumstances defined in law and summarized below, all minors under 18 years of age employed in the state of California must have a permit to work [EC 49160; LC 1299]. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act also requires a certificate of age for working minors. The state Permit to Employ and Work ("Permit") is accepted as the federal certificate of age [29 CFR 570.9]. The minor’s school issues Permits to Employ and Work. [EC 49110, 49112, 49113, 49116].

Employers must have a Permit to Employ and Work on file and available for inspection by school and labor officials at all times [LC 1299, EC 49161 and 49164]. Permits to Employ and Work are issued on the same form. Permits are always required, even when school is not in session. Permits are issued for specific employment at a specified address [EC 49115 and 49163]. Permits contain the maximum number of hours a minor may work in a day and week, the range of hours during the day that a minor may work, any occupational limitations, and any additional restrictions imposed at the school’s discretion.

Permits may not be issued that violate any provision of law [EC 49164]. Thus, all restrictions on minimum ages for employment in various occupations and all work hour restrictions must be strictly followed (See Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8 of this digest). Neither school nor labor officials are empowered to waive, at any time or under any circumstances, any minimum labor standard established by law or regulation.

Minors work with the permission of the local school district, and no law requires schools to issue permits for the maximum hours allowed by law or for every occupation for which a minor might be eligible. Thus, depending on the minor’s particular circumstances or local district policy, school officials may impose additional restrictions at their discretion. Any violation of such special restrictions subjects the permit to revocation [EC 49164]. Any person empowered to issue a permit that knowingly certifies to false information on a permit, commits a misdemeanor [EC 49183].

Permits to Employ and Work may be denied or canceled at any time by school officials or the Labor Commissioner, whenever the conditions for the issuance of the certificate or permit do not exist, no longer exist, or have never existed [LC 1300; EC 49164]. School officials who determine that schoolwork or health of the minor is impaired by the employment may revoke the Permit [EC 49116].

Permits issued during the school year expire five days after the opening of the next succeeding school year and must be renewed [EC 49118].

Inclusions

Federal and state occupational restrictions are such that in most cases minors must be at least 14 years of age to begin working. Any minor who is at least 12 years of age may be issued a Permit by school officials [EC 49111], however few occupations are available to them. (See Chapters Six and Seven of this digest.) Exception: An employer must first obtain a Permit to Employ Minors in the Entertainment Industry before a minor may be employed in such industry. Additionally, the minor’s parent or legal guardian must obtain an Entertainment Work Permit before the minor may be employed in the entertainment industry. Both such permits are issued by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement [LC 1308.5, CCR 11752 and 11753]. Please refer to Chapter 9 of this digest for additional information regarding minors working in the entertainment industry.

A minor enrolled in a Work Experience Education program must obtain a work permit, and his or her employer must possess a permit to employ. The minor must be at least 16 years of age to be enrolled in a Work Experience Education program, with certain exceptions as specified in the Education Code [EC 49113].

An apprentice in a bona fide apprenticeship-training program must have the standard Permit to Employ and Work issued by their respective schools. Apprentices must be at least 16 years of age [LC 3077].

Parents who employ their children in any occupation permitted to minors, including industrial, mercantile, or similar commercial enterprises, must obtain the standard Permit to Employ and Work [EC 49141]. This means that parents must obtain permits for the employment of their minor children in any enterprise, unless they employ their minor children in agriculture or domestic labor. (See "Permit Exclusions" below and Chapter 10 of this digest.)

Minors visiting from another state (or country, if eligible to work in the United States) who wish to work in California must obtain the standard Permit to Employ and Work, and their employers must possess such permit [LC 1286 and 1299; EC 49160 and 49164]. These permits may be issued by the local school district in which the minor will reside while visiting [EC 49110].

Emancipated minors must have the standard Permit to Employ and Work, and employers employing them must possess this permit. Emancipated minors are those persons under 18 who have entered into a valid marriage (whether or not the marriage was dissolved), are on active duty with the armed services, or possess a "Declaration of Emancipation" issued by the superior court. Minors declared emancipated by the court must be at least 14 years of age. Emancipated minors may apply for a Permit to Employ and Work without parental consent [FC 7000 et seq.], but they are subject to all other child labor laws.

So-called "dropouts" under 18 are still subject to California’s compulsory education laws, and must, therefore, have permits in order to work (See Chapter 2 of this digest).

Exclusions

High school graduates or minors who have been awarded a certificate of proficiency are exempt from the permit requirements [EC 49101; LC 1286]. Minors do not need to attain a minimum age in order to graduate from high school. However, to qualify for a certificate of proficiency, the minor must be at least 16 years of age, or must have been enrolled for one academic year in the 10th grade, or have completed one academic year of enrollment in the 10th grade at the end of the semester the test was taken [EC 48412].

Parents or guardians who employ their children in agriculture, horticulture, viticulture, or domestic labor on or in connection with property the parent or guardian owns, operates, or controls do not require permits [LC 1394]. However, these minors may not be employed during school hours, even when they are under school age [LC 1394].

Minors who are self-employed do not require permits.

Minors irregularly employed in odd jobs in private homes, such as baby-sitting, lawn mowing, and leaf raking, do not need to obtain a Permit to Employ and Work [18 Ops. Cal. Atty. Gen. 114, August 31, 1951)].

Minors engaged in the sale and distribution of newspapers or magazines are often self-employed, and thus do not require permits. Minors who are at least 14 years of age and employed to deliver newspapers to consumers do not require permits, whether or not they are self-employed [EC 49112(d)]. Requirements for this occupation are detailed in Chapter 7 of this digest.

Minors of any age who participate in any horseback riding exhibition, contest, or event, whether or not they receive payment for services or prize money do not need to obtain a Permit to Employ and Work [EC 49119 and 49165; LC 1308(b)(3)]. Note: Minors under 16 years of age are prohibited from participating in any rough stock rodeo event, circus or race. "Rough stock rodeo event" means any rodeo event operated for profit or operated by other than a nonprofit organization in which unbroken, little-trained, or imperfectly trained animals are ridden or handled by the participant, and shall include, but not be limited to, saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, and bull riding. "Race" means any speed contest between two or more animals that are on a course at the same time and that is operated for profit or operated other than by a nonprofit organization. [LC 1308(b)(3)]

State and local agencies that directly employ minors are not included in the Labor Code’s child labor provisions, and are exempt from permit requirements. State and local agencies must be expressly included in the Labor Code to be subject to its requirements. State and local agencies are, however, covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and must meet all of its requirements [29 USC 203(s)(1)].

Obtaining Permits to Employ and Work

Prior to permitting the minor to work, employers must possess a valid Permit to Employ and Work. The minor’s school issues the permit. In typical circumstances, after an employer agrees to hire a minor, the minor then obtains from his or her school a brief form with the title "Statement of Intent to Employ Minor and Request for Work Permit" ("Application") [EC 49162]. The Application is completed by the minor and the employer and signed by the minor’s parent or guardian and the prospective supervisor [EC 49163]. After returning the completed and signed Application to the school, school officials may then issue the Permit to Employ and Work [EC 49110 - 49113, and 49130]. Exception: A minor employed in the entertainment industry must have an Entertainment Work Permit issued by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement [LC 1308.5, CCR 11753]. The employer of such a minor must have a Permit to Employ Minors in the Entertainment Industry which are also issued by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement [CCR 11752]. (See Chapter 9 of this digest.)

A minor attending a charter school* who wishes to work, must obtain the standard Permit to Employ and Work, and the employer must possess such permit. Either the minor’s school or the authority that granted the school’s charter (normally the local school district) may issue the permit.

4. WAGES

Minors must be paid at least the minimum wage and applicable overtime rates established by the California Industrial Welfare Commission [LC 1197, IWC Orders Section 4]. Employers who are subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (and most are) must pay the applicable federal minimum wage and overtime rates [29 USC 206, 207, and 214]. Whenever state and federal wage standards differ, the higher wage must always be paid [LC 1182, 29 USC 218].

Required Payment of Adult Wage Rates

High school graduates or the equivalent must be paid commensurate with adults when they perform the same quantity, quality, and classification of work. This includes wage rates that are above the minimum wage [LC 1391.2].

Minors participating in Work Experience Education programs and who work between 10 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. (an extension of hours which requires the express approval of parents and school officials) must be paid at least the adult minimum wage for any work performed during those hours [LC 1391.1].

Sixteen and seventeen-year-olds who are permitted to work 48 hours in a week must be paid any applicable overtime pay [LC 1391(a)(3), IWC Orders Section 3, 29 USC 207)].

Subminimum Wages

The IWC Orders state that minors may not be paid less than 85% of the adult minimum wage rounded to the nearest nickel provided that the number of minors employed at said lesser rate do not account for more than 25% of the total number of persons regularly employed in the same establishment. An employer with less than 10 regular employees may employ up to three minors at the lesser rate. The 25% limitation does not apply during school vacations [IWC Orders Section 4]. Overtime premium based on the regular rate of pay must be paid when overtime is worked [IWC Orders Section 3].

FEDERAL OPPORTUNITY WAGE

Amendments to the FLSA also provide a new subminimum "opportunity wage" for youth. The opportunity wage, effective October 1, 1996, must be at least $4.25 per hour and applies only to workers under 20 years of age during the first 90 consecutive calendar days after the employee is initially hired [29 USC 206(g)]. It is unlawful for an employer to displace a current employee or reduce his or her work hours or benefits in order to pay the opportunity wage

FEDERAL OPPORTUNITY WAGE AND IWC LEARNER AND MINOR RATES

In order to pay a subminimum wage, a California employer who is also subject to the FLSA must determine if the employment is eligible for a subminimum wage under state law and federal law simultaneously. If the employment violates any state requirement for a subminimum wage, then the state minimum wage must be paid even though the employment meets all federal subminimum wage requirements. Likewise, if the employment violates any federal requirement for a subminimum wage, the federal minimum wage must be paid even though the employment meets all state subminimum wage requirements. Thus, the employer’s ability to pay a subminimum wage under state law will be limited by overlapping federal opportunity wage requirements and vice versa.

In a special case in which a statute overrides the applicable IWC Order [Order No. 10 in this case], student employees, camp counselors, or program counselors of an organized camp, regardless of age, may be paid a weekly salary amounting to 85% of the minimum wage for a 40-hour week, even if they work more than 40 hours in a week [LC 1182.4]. This provision does not exempt employers from the maximum work hour limits for minors established in Labor Code Section 1391, which are explained in Chapter Five of this digest. Thus, the only savings on overtime hours that can apply are those for 16 and 17-year-olds, who are allowed to work up to 48 hours per week [LC 1391(a)(3)]. If student employees, camp counselors, or program counselors, regardless of age, work less than 40 hours per week, they must be paid at least 85% of the minimum wage for each hour worked. An "organized camp" is defined in state law as a site with program and facilities established for the primary purposes of providing an outdoor group living experience with social, spiritual, educational, or recreational objectives, for five days or more during one or more seasons of the year. The term does not include a motel, tourist camp, trailer park, resort, hunting camp, auto court, labor camp, penal or correctional camp, child care institution, home-finding agency, or any charitable or recreational organization operating a special (i.e., temporary) occupancy trailer park [HSC 18897 and 18301]. The organized camp must meet the standards established by the American Camping Association.

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act also exempts from minimum wage and overtime requirements employees of organized camps (and amusement or recreational establishments and religious or nonprofit educational conference centers) if the facility does not operate for more than seven months in any calendar year or if its average receipts for any six months of the preceding year do not exceed 33 1/3% of the receipts for the remaining six months of the preceding year. However, private entities providing services or facilities in a National Park, National Forest, or National Wildlife Refuge are not exempt from federal wage requirements, unless the services or facilities are related to skiing [29 USC 213(a)(3)].

Minimum Wage Exemptions

State minimum wage and overtime exemptions are listed in the applicable IWC Order. Employers who are also subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act should also check with the U.S. Department of Labor to determine if the state’s exemption coincides with federal requirements. Exemptions for parent or guardians are explained in Chapter 10 of this digest.

5.  Hours of Work

SUMMARY CHART

**A "schoolday" is any day that the minor is required to attend school for 240 minutes or more. [EC 49116; LC 1391]

Workhour Exceptions for Sixteen- and Seventeen-Year-Olds

Sixteen and seventeen-year-olds enrolled in Work Experience or cooperative vocational education programs approved by the California Department of Education or those conducted by private schools may work on any day after 10 p.m., but not later than 12:30 a.m., provided that the parent or guardian and the Work Experience Education coordinator approve. Such employment may not be detrimental to the health, education, or welfare of the minor. Minors in these programs who work between the hours of 10 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. must be paid at least the adult minimum wage for those hours [LC 1391.1]. As the chart indicates, 16 and 17-year-olds enrolled in a school approved Work Experience or cooperative vocational education program may work more than four hours on a schoolday, but never more than eight hours in any day [EC 49116, LC 1391 and 1392].

Sixteen and seventeen-year-olds employed as personal attendants, as the term is defined in IWC Order No. 15 in effect at the time of employment, may be authorized to work more than four hours on a schoolday [E

C 49116, LC 1391].

Sixteen and seventeen-year-olds employed in agricultural packing plants during the peak harvest season may work up to 10 hours on any day that school is not in session. Such employment requires a special permit granted by the Labor Commissioner to the employer operating the packing plant. Permits may only be granted if they do not materially affect the safety and welfare of minor employees and will prevent undue hardship on the employer. The Labor Commissioner may require an inspection of a packing plant prior to granting the permit. Permits may be revoked after reasonable notice is given in writing or immediately if any of its terms or conditions are violated. Applications must be made upon a form provided by the Labor Commissioner, and a copy must be posted at the place of employment at the time the application is submitted [LC 1393].*

Workhour Exceptions for Fourteen- and Fifteen-Year-Olds

Fourteen and fifteen-year-olds who have successfully completed elementary school and are enrolled in a Work Experience Education program may be issued permits for full-time employment if: (1) it is demonstrated that through the death or desertion of the minor’s father or mother, the family needs the minor’s earnings and sufficient aid cannot be secured in any other manner; (2) the minor is unable to reside with his or her family and such full-time earnings are necessary for the support of the minor; or (3) the minor is residing in foster care and, with the written authorization of their social worker, probation officer, or child protective services worker, they wish to further the goal of obtaining a court ordered Declaration of Emancipation or gain knowledge of work skills and habits [EC 49130]. School officials must investigate the conditions claimed for issuance of this permit and issue a written judgment that the earnings are needed for the support of the minor and that sufficient aid cannot be secured in any other way. For minors who are in foster care, the school official must sign a statement that he or she has received authorization from the minor’s social worker, probation officer, or child protective services worker [EC 49130]. These permits may only be issued if the minor’s parent or guardian appears in person before the permit issuer and applies for the permit [EC 49132]. In addition, the issuing authority must receive and examine bona fide and current school and attendance records, proof of age, a written statement from the prospective employer affirming and describing the prospective employment, and a certificate of health signed by a physician or public medical officer that the minor is physically fit for the prospective employment. No fee may be charged the minor for this certificate [EC 49133]. Finally, the parent, guardian, or custodian who accompanies the minor must swear an oath that his or her statement of the name, address, birthplace, and age of the minor entered on the application are true and correct to the best of their knowledge [EC 49134]. These permits must expire no later than the end of the school year in which they are issued [EC 49130]. Note: These permits may only be issued for employment that is exempt from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. See Chapter 12 of this digest or contact the nearest office of the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor for further information.

Workhour Exceptions for Fourteen- and Fifteen-Year-Old Sports Attendants

Fourteen and fifteen-year-olds may be employed in "sports-attending services" at professional baseball games until 10:00 p.m. on any night preceding a school day or until 12:30 a.m. on any night preceding a nonschool day. When school is in session, fourteen and fifteen-year-olds may work a maximum of five hours per day and eighteen hours per week as professional baseball "sports attendants." When school is not in session, they may work a maximum of forty hours per week [LC 1295.5].

No minor may be permitted to work in professional baseball sports-attending services without the prior written approval of either his or her school district or county board of education [LC 1295.5].

Workhours for Twelve- and Thirteen-Year-Olds

Twelve and thirteen-year-olds may be issued permits to work in the occupations permitted to them on a "regular school holiday, during the regular vacation of the public school..., and during a specified occasional public school vacation..." but not on any regular schoolday, either before or after school [EC 49111, 49112, and 49116]. The phrases referring to vacations and holidays are not precisely defined, but are usually construed to include weekends during the regular school year. Daily and weekly workhour maximums for 12 and 13-year-olds who may work during the regular school year are not specified in any statute, and are therefore left to local school officials to determine [EC 49111]. However, it is very unlikely that any local school official would issue permits allowing 12 and 13-year-olds to work hours in excess of the three per day and 18 per week accorded to 14 and 15-year-olds. At no time during the year or under any circumstances may 12 and 13-year-olds work more than eight hours in a day or 40 hours in a week in the occupations permitted to them [LC 1391].

Note: State law provides that a 13- year-old may be issued a permit to work up to two hours on a schoolday and up to four hours in a week if he or she has completed sixth grade, been identified by the school district as a potential dropout, and is a participant in an employment program conducted on school premises and sponsored by one or more school districts [EC 49112]. Note: State schools are subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, which prohibits employment of minors under 14 except in an exempted occupation. See Chapter 12 of this digest for those exemptions or contact the nearest office of the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor for further information.

Workhour Exceptions Applicable to All Age Groups

High school graduates or those awarded a certificate of proficiency may be employed for the same hours as adults and do not require permits [LC 1286].

School officials may restrict working hours to fewer than the maximum allowed by law. Minors work with the permission of school authorities, and no law requires school authorities to issue a permit for the maximum hours allowed by law.

Minors aged 12 to 18 who enter an attendance area from another state with less than 10 days remaining in the school term may be issued permits for the remainder of the school term and are exempt from full-time school attendance requirements [EC 49111, 48231].

Finally, several exceptions are discussed in detail in subsequent chapters of this digest: Newscarriers (Chapter 7), personal attendants and household occupations (Chapter 7), minors employed in the entertainment industry (Chapter 9), parent or guardian employers (Chapter 10), and exemptions under federal law (Chapter 12).

Eighteen

Eighteen is the minimum age that minors may be:

• Employed in occupations declared hazardous by federal regulation and adopted by inclusion by the state of California [LC 1294.1, 29 CFR 570 Subpart E] (See Chapter 8 of this digest.)

• Employed without being subject to child labor restrictions since they are no longer minors. With rare exceptions, such as the sale and service of alcohol or the transportation of hazardous materials, persons who are at least 18 may be employed in any occupation without restriction.

Sixteen

Sixteen is the minimum age that minors may be:

• Employed in California unless minors under that age are expressly permitted by law to work: "NO MINOR UNDER THE AGE OF 16 YEARS SHALL BE EMPLOYED, PERMITTED, OR SUFFERED TO WORK in or in connection with any manufacturing establishment OR OTHER PLACE OF LABOR OR EMPLOYMENT AT ANY TIME, except as may be provided in this article (namely, LC Sections 1285 – 1312) or by the provisions of Part 27 of the Education Code [EC 48000 et seq.] [LC 1290] (Emphasis added)." Exceptions for minors under 16 are summarized below and detailed in Chapters 7 and 8 of this digest.
• Employed in any of the occupations prohibited by Labor Code Sections 1292, 1293, 1294, 1294.1, and 1297 or by Article 1 of Subchapter 1 of Chapter 6 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations. (See Chapters 7 and 8 of this digest.)
• Accepted in an approved apprenticeship training program [LC 3077].
• Trained in specified occupations declared hazardous by federal regulation to minors under 18. Such training must be pursuant to an approved training course or apprenticeship [LC 1294.1, 29 CFR 570 Subpart E]. (See Chapter 8 of this digest.)
• Employed during the regular school year and during regular school hours (in addition to 14 and 15-year-olds enrolled in Work Experience Education programs) [EC 49113 and 49116].

Fourteen

Fourteen is the minimum age that minors may be:

• Employed in occupations permitted in Subpart C of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulation and adopted by inclusion by the state of California in Labor Code Section 1294.1(a)(2). These occupations are listed in Chapter 7 of this digest. No minor under 14 may be employed in firms subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act unless the employment is exempt as specified in Chapter 12 of this digest.
• Employed during the regular school year, but only before or after school [EC 49112] (For exceptions see Chapter 5 of this digest.)
• Enrolled in a Work Experience Education program [EC 49113].

Twelve

Twelve is the minimum age that minors may be:

• Issued a Permit to Work by school authorities [EC 49111].

• Employed in household occupations or as a personal attendant if issued a Permit to Work [EC 49111]. This should not be construed to apply to irregular employment as a babysitter or other personal attendant duties or to irregular yard or housework since those occupations, when pursued on a casual, irregular basis, are considered exempt from permit requirements [18 Ops. Cal. Atty. Gen. 114 (1951)]. Since most domestic service is not considered part of the child labor provisions of the FLSA, the federal minimum age of 14 for permitted occupations does not apply to domestic service [29 CFR 552.108]. (See Chapter 7 of this Digest.)

• Employed or permitted to work in or in connection with the occupation of selling or distributing newspapers, magazines, periodicals, or circulars [LC 1298]. Newscarriers are exempt from the FLSA [29 USC 213].

Under Twelve

Occupations Permitted to 14- and 15-Year-Olds

The State of California has adopted by inclusion federal standards for 14 and 15-year-olds as they appear in the Code of Federal Regulation. The adoption of federal standards automatically includes any changes that may be made in federal regulations in the future [LC 1294.1, 29 CFR Part 570, Subpart C]. Fourteen and fifteen-year-olds who work in the food service, retail, and gasoline service industries may only be employed in the occupations expressly permitted to them in federal regulation and state law [LC 1294.1; 29 CFR Part 570, Subpart C]. Permitted occupations in these industries are listed below under individual headings. Fourteen and fifteen-year-olds may be employed in any occupation not prohibited by federal regulation [LC 1294.1, 29 CFR 570.32, 570.33(a)] or under state law [LC 1294.1 and 1294.3]. These occupations are listed in Chapter 8 of this digest.

Food Service & Retail

Fourteen and fifteen-year-olds may be employed in the following occupations in the food service and retail industries:

• Office and clerical work, including the operation of office machines.

• Cashiering, selling, modeling, art work, work in advertising departments, window trimming, and comparative shopping.

• Price marking and tagging by hand or by machine, assembling orders, packing and shelving.

• Bagging and carrying out customers orders.

• Errand and delivery work by foot, bicycle, or public transportation.

• Cleanup work, including the use of vacuum cleaners and floor waxers, and maintenance of grounds, but not including the use of power-driven mowers or cutters.

• Kitchen work and other work involved in preparing and serving food and beverages, including the operation of machines and devices used in the performance of this work, including but not limited to, dishwashers, toasters, dumbwaiters, popcorn poppers, milkshake blenders, and coffee grinders.

• Cleaning vegetables and fruits, and wrapping, sealing, labeling, weighing, pricing, and stocking goods when performed in areas physically separate from areas where meat is prepared for sale and outside freezers or meat coolers.

Fourteen and fifteen-year-olds may perform cooking duties at soda fountains, lunch counters, snack bars, or cafeteria serving counters where such cooking is performed in plain sight of customers and is not the minor’s sole duty. In fast food restaurants where, for example, the french fryer is in plain view, a 14 or 15-year-old may perform duties related to that machine. Where hamburgers or other food items are prepared out of plain sight of the customers or such preparation is the minor’s sole duty, the minor must be at least 16 [LC 1294.1, 29 CFR 570.34(b)]. Additional occupations prohibited to minors under 16 in food service and retail are listed in Chapter 8 of this digest. Minors under 18 are prohibited from using power-driven meat processing machines and certain baking machines [LC 1294.1, 29 CFR 570. 61 and 570.52]. Occupations prohibited to minors under 18 are also detailed in Chapter 8 of this digest.

Underage employment in any of these occupations is a Class A child labor violation. Penalties are explained in Chapter 11 of this digest.

Liquor and Lottery Sales

Persons under 21 may not be employed during business hours in or on that portion of any premises that are primarily designed and used for the sale and service of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises [BPC 25663]. This refers to any activity, not just the sale and service of alcohol. However, person’s 18 to 21 years of age may perform as musicians in such establishments if no live lewd acts are allowed on the premises and if no alcohol is allowed in the musicians’ performance area [BPC 25667]. Persons 18 to 21 years of age may serve alcohol in a bona fide public eating establishment if the person is not employed as a bartender and the service is in that part of the establishment used for the sale and service of food [BPC 25667]. No law prohibits minors under 18 from bussing tables in a bona fide public eating establishment where alcohol is served.

Minors under 18 may be employed by establishments that sell alcohol for consumption off the premises only if the minor is constantly supervised by a person 21 years of age or older [BPC 25663(b)].

Minors under 18 may sell lottery tickets or shares only if they are constantly supervised by a person 21 years of age or older [GC 8880.50].

Gasoline Service Stations

Fourteen and fifteen-year-olds may work in gas stations, but only in those activities that are also permitted to 14 and 15-year-olds in the food service and retail industries [LC 1294.5].

Sixteen is the minimum age that minors may be allowed to work in the following activities [LC 1294.5]:

• Dispensing gas or oil;
• Courtesy service;
• Car cleaning, washing, and polishing.

Sixteen is the minimum age that minors may be employed or permitted to perform any type of mechanical work [LC 1294.1, 29 CFR 570.34(b)(3)] or any other work in a gasoline service establishment prohibited to minors under 16 by federal regulation and adopted by inclusion by the state of California [LC 1294.1; 29 CFR 570.34(b)]. (See Chapter 8 of this digest for a detailed list of these occupations.)

Eighteen is the minimum age that a person may perform activities in gas stations that involves the use of pits, racks, lifting apparatuses, or the inflation of any tire mounted on a rim equipped with a removable retaining ring [LC 1294.5]. Minors may not be employed in a gas station service establishment in any occupation declared hazardous by the Secretary of Labor for minors under 18 [LC 1294.1, 29 CFR 570 Subpart E]. (See Chapter 8 of this digest.)

Underage employment in any of these occupations is a Class A child labor violations. Penalties are explained in Chapter 11 of this digest.

Motor Vehicle Occupations

Minors under 18 may not be employed for the purpose of driving a motor vehicle on the highways or streets [LC 1294.1(b); VC 12515]. Note: The Vehicle Code is not violated unless the "primary or principal purpose" of the minor’s employment is the driving of a motor vehicle on the highway or street [61 Ops. Cal. Atty. Gen. 146, (1978)]. Similarly, federal standards [29 CFR 570.52] adopted by the state prohibit persons under 17 years of age from performing any on-the-job driving of automobiles and trucks on public roadways. Such standards do, however, permit 17-year old minors to drive automobiles and trucks on public roadways only if such driving meets all of the following conditions:

• such driving is restricted to daylight hours;
• the minor holds a State license valid for the type of driving involved in the job performed and has no records of any moving violation at the time of hire;
• the minor has successfully completed a State approved driver education course;
• the automobile or truck is equipped with a seat belt for the driver and any passengers and the employer has instructed the minor that the seat belts must be used when driving the automobile or truck;
• the automobile or truck does not exceed 6,000 pounds of gross vehicle weight; such driving does not include:

• the towing of vehicles
• route deliveries or route sales
• the transportation for hire of property, goods, or passengers;
• urgent, time-sensitive deliveries;
• more than two trips away from the primary place of employment in any single day for the purpose of delivering goods of the minor’s employer or to a customer (other than urgent, time-sensitive deliveries);
• more than two trips away from the primary place of employment in any single day for the purpose of transporting passengers (other than employees of the employer);
• transporting more than three passengers (including employees of the employer);
• driving beyond a 30 mile radius from the minor’s place of employment, and
• such driving is only occasional and incidental to the minor’s employment.

The term "occasional and incidental" means no more than one-third of a minor’s worktime in any workday and no more than 20 percent of a minor’s worktime in any workweek
[29 CFR 570.52].

Minors under 16 may not be employed to drive a motor vehicle in any capacity [LC 1294]. However, certain exceptions are available for training programs in agriculture. (See Chapter 8 of this digest.) Minors under 16 may not deliver goods, merchandise, commodities, papers (except newspapers) or packages from a motor vehicle regardless of the vehicle’s size or type [8 CCR 11701, LC 1294.4], serve as helpers on motor vehicles [LC 1294.1, 29 CFR 570.33], or be employed in any occupation which must be performed on any media of transportation [LC 1294.1; 29 CFR 570.33].

Violation of the Labor Code or Title 8 regulations governing motor vehicles are Class A child labor violations. Penalties are explained in Chapter 11 of this digest.

Persons under 21 may not be hired to transport hazardous materials [VC 12515].

Messengers

Sixteen is the minimum age that minors may be permitted to work as a messenger for any telegraph, telephone or messenger company in the distribution or delivery of goods or messages [LC 1297]. This statute does not apply to any minor employed to deliver newspapers to consumers. Although Labor Code Section 1297 makes additional reference to the lawful employment of minors under 16 in messenger occupations, federal standards adopted by inclusion by the state of California prohibit minors under 16 from being employed or permitted to work in occupations in a public messenger service [LC 1294.1; 29 CFR 570.33(d)]. Messengers have a unique spread of hours, which allows them to work only from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Fourteen and fifteen-year-olds may be employed to run errands and make deliveries by foot, bicycle, or public transportation [LC 1294.1 and 1294.3, 29 CFR 570.34].

Persons or companies engaged in the delivery of packages, letters, notes, messages or other matter and every manager, superintendent or other agent thereof, who sends any minor (that is, any person under 18) in the employ of the company or person to the keeper of any house of prostitution, variety theater or other places of questionable repute, or to any person connected with, or to any inmate of such house, theater or other place, or who permits any minor to enter such house, theater, or other place is guilty of a misdemeanor [PC 273(e)].

Newspaper and Magazine Sales

Door-to-Door Sales

"Door-to-door sales" has the same meaning as a "home solicitation contract or offer," which is any contract, whether single or multiple, or any offer which is subject to approval, for the sale, lease, or rental of goods or services or both, made at other than appropriate trade premises. No minimum or maximum monetary amount whatsoever applies to this definition when applied to minors’ door-to-door sales [LC 1286(e), CC 1689.5, 8 CCR 11706.1].

No minor under the age of six may be permitted to engage in the door-to-door sales or street sales of candy, cookies, flowers, or any other merchandise or commodities. [LC 1308.1] Because school officials may only issue a Permit to Employ and Work to a minor who are at least 12 years of age [EC 49111], and because an employer is required to keep on file all such permits [LC 1299], the effect of these two statutes is to vitiate the inference raised by LC 1308.1 that a minor need only be six years of age in order to engage in these activities. (See Chapter 6 of this digest.)

Minors under 16 MAY NOT:

• Sell to passing motorists newspapers, candy, flowers or other merchandise or commodities from a fixed location on a street, highway, freeway island or divider, freeway on or off ramp, or the side of a freeway or highway entrance or exit shoulder [LC 1296, 8 CCR 11706].
  
• Sell newspaper or magazine subscriptions, candy, cookies, flowers or other merchandise or commodities door-to-door unless all of the following conditions are met [LC 1296, 8 CCR 11706]:

• Minors so engaged work in pairs, as a team, on the same or opposite side of the street;
• Minors so engaged must be supervised by an adult supervisor for each crew of 10 or fewer minors;
• Minors must be within the sight or sound of the adult supervisor at least once every 15 minutes;
• Minors must be returned to their respective homes or place of rendezvous daily after each day's work.
• In addition, the door-to-door sales activities (including newspaper or magazine subscriptions) must be performed within 50 miles of the minor’s residence [LC 1308.1].

Note: Door-to-door selling includes minors selling in parking lots or malls, whether alone or in pairs or teams [8 CCR 11706.1]. Exception: These regulations do not apply to newscarriers who solicit subscriptions, or sell newspapers door-to-door when they are directly employed by the newspaper and deliver the newspaper on a regular basis to an established readership for a requested consideration [8 CCR 11706.2].

Employers, supervisors, and transporters of minors under 16 engaged in
door-to-door sales more than 10 miles from the minor’s residence must register with the Labor Commissioner [LC 1308.2, 1308.3, and 1308.4]. (See Chapter 10 of this digest for additional information on registration requirements.)

Manufacturing and Processing

Under state law, 16 is the minimum age that minors may be employed, permitted, or suffered to work in or in connection with any manufacturing establishment [LC 1290]. "Manufacturing" includes work done at any place upon the work of a manufacturing establishment or upon the materials entering into the products of a manufacturing establishment whether directly under any arrangement with the person in charge of the establishment or indirectly through contractors of third persons [LC 1291].

Under federal regulation, adopted by inclusion by the state of California, 16 is the minimum age for employment in manufacturing and processing occupations. Minors under 16 may not be employed in manufacturing or processing in any occupation performed in the work rooms or work places where goods are manufactured or processed, including occupations that would otherwise be permitted to 14 and 15-year-olds [LC 1294.1, 29 CFR 570.33(a)] and 570.34(b)]. Processing occupations include for example, filleting fish, dressing poultry, cracking nuts, commercial laundering, and dry cleaning (except in a retail, food service or gasoline service establishment in those occupations expressly permitted and listed in Chapter 7 of this digest.)

Goods may only be manufactured or assembled in the home when both the employee and employer have special permits issued by the Labor Commissioner which allow industrial homework [LC 2658, 2659]. A person must be at least 16 years of age to be issued a homeworker permit [LC 2661]. Homeworker permits are inexpensive, and the fee may be waived if it causes financial hardship [LC 2660]. The following items may never be manufactured in a home, regardless of age or circumstances: Bandages and other sanitary goods; explosives, fireworks, or similar items; drugs or poisons, tobacco; wearing apparel; toys and dolls; food, drink, or articles connected with the serving of food and drink [LC 2651].

Household Occupations

Minors who are irregularly employed in odd jobs in private households such as baby-sitting and yardwork do not require permits to work or employ [8 Ops. Cal. Atty. Gen. 114, (1951)]. However, they may not be employed in these occupations during regular school hours or in any hazardous duty prohibited to the minor’s age group.

Employment of minors in a household on a regular basis to perform domestic duties requires permits to work and employ. Wage and working condition requirements for these occupations are governed by IWC Order No. 15, and the employer must keep a copy of this Order available for inspection by the employee upon request [IWC Order No. 15 Section 17]. IWC Orders are available on the Internet at http://www.dir.ca.gov/IWC/iwc.html or from any DLSE office.

IWC Order No. 15 defines two groups of domestic duties, household occupations and personal attendants: "Household occupations" are

all services related to the care of persons or maintenance of a private household or its premises by an employee of a private householder. Said occupations shall include, but not be limited to, the following: butlers, chauffeurs, companions, cooks, day workers, gardeners, graduate nurses, grooms, housecleaners, housekeepers, maids, practical nurses, tutors, valets, and other similar occupations [IWC Order No. 15 Section 2(C)].

"Personal attendant" includes

baby-sitters and means any person employed by a private householder or by any third party employer recognized in the health care industry to work in a private household, to supervise, feed, or dress a child or person who by reason of advanced age, physical disability, or mental deficiency needs supervision. The status of ‘personal attendant’ shall apply when no significant amount of work other than the foregoing is required [IWC Order No. 15 Section 2(I)].

Personal attendants are exempt from state minimum wage requirements. Personal attendants who are at least 16 years old may be issued a work permit to work in that occupation for more than four hours on a schoolday [EC 49116, LC 1391]. Note, however, that the duties of the personal attendant are sharply limited to ‘supervising, feeding, or dressing’ a person, and that any significant duties in addition to these voids the classification and its accompanying exemptions.

Minors employed in household occupations may be issued a permit to be employed for more than eight hours in a day, but are still subject to the weekly maximum for their age group [LC 1392]. Minors may not be employed in all the household occupations; they are still prohibited from underage employment in any occupation prohibited to them by statute. For example, the occupation of chauffeur is a household occupation, but minors are prohibited from being employed to drive motor vehicles.

Special exemptions for parent/guardian employers of their own minor children in domestic labor are explained in Chapter 10 of this digest.

The state’s categories for household occupations do not precisely coincide with federal categories and standards, but there is an approximate equivalence. Under federal law, "domestic service employment," that is, duties performed in or about the private home of the employer [29 CFR 552.101]) are exempt from the FLSA’s child labor provisions (like workhour restrictions, for example) [29 CFR 552.108], but not from federal minimum wage and overtime requirements [29 CFR 552.99]. Nevertheless, babysitters are exempt from federal wage requirements if their duties are performed on a casual basis [29 CFR 552.104]. "Casual" means that the work may not exceed 20 hours per week on a regular basis. Hours may occasionally exceed this maximum if performed for irregular or intermittent periods [29 CFR 552.104]. Sitters may accompany a family on a vacation for up to six weeks and still be exempt from federal wage requirements [29 CFR 552.104]. The 20-hours-per-week limitation does not apply to "companionship services," which includes the care of the aged and mentally or physically infirm [29 CFR 552.6]. Contact the local office of the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor for further information regarding federal requirements for domestic service employment.

Immoral Places and Activities

Any person, whether as parent, guardian, employer or otherwise, and any firm or corporation, who as employer or otherwise, sends, directs, or causes to be sent or directed to any saloon, gambling house, house of prostitution or other immoral place any minor under 18 is guilty of a misdemeanor [PC 273(f)].

Farm labor contractors who knowingly send any minor to any house of ill fame, gambling house, or to any place where alcohol is sold to be consumed on the premises commit a misdemeanor and may have their license suspended [LC 1698.4, 1698.5, 1697, and 1690].

Minors under 18 may not be exhibited, used or employed, or in any manner or under any pretense, sold, apprenticed, given away, let out, or disposed of to another person who causes, procures, or encourages the minor to engage in any obscene, indecent, or immoral purpose, exhibition, or practice whatsoever [LC 1308(a)(3) and 1309].

The prohibitions discussed in this chapter are strict, and the penalties severe. Allowing underage minors to work in prohibited occupations is a Class A child labor violation carrying civil penalties that range from $5,000 on the first offense to a maximum of $10,000 [LC 1288]. Criminal misdemeanor penalties also apply [LC 1303 and 1308]. Moreover, responsible persons may not permit a minor to perform these work activities under any circumstances, even if the minor is not technically his or her employee. Penalties are discussed in detail in Chapter 11 of this digest.

Note: When the state adopted these federal standards it also retained existing state standards for minors under 16. In some cases these two standards overlap and may appear to contradict. In all such instances, the more protective standard always applies. For example, Labor Code Section 1293 prohibits minors under 16 from working with band and circular saws, but minors under 18 are also prohibited from working with these saws [LC 1294.1 (b), 29 CFR 570.65 (H.O. 14)]. An employer who hires a 17-year-old to operate a circular saw cannot use his or her compliance with LC Section 1293 to justify noncompliance with the higher standard for that same occupation that is established in LC Section 1294.1(b) for minors under 18.

Minors under 18

The state of California has adopted by inclusion all federal standards for hazardous occupations for minors under 18 as they appear in the Code of Federal Regulation. The adoption of federal standards by inclusion automatically incorporates into state law any changes that may be made in federal regulations in the future [LC 1294.1; 29 CFR Part 570 Subpart E].* Under federal law, high school graduates under 18 are subject to all these prohibitions unless they have also completed an approved training program in the occupation in which they are to be employed [29 CFR 570.50].

Restrictions, exceptions, and detailed descriptions of the occupations declared hazardous in federal regulation to minors under 18 are complex and lengthy. The following is only a brief summary of those hazardous occupations. A complete text of the regulations in pamphlet form is available from the Wage and Hour Division of U.S. Department of Labor. The pamphlet is entitled Child Labor Requirements in Nonagricultural Occupations.

Minors under 18 MAY NOT be employed or permitted to work in the following occupations declared hazardous in federal regulation and adopted by inclusion by the state of California [LC 1294.1; 29 CFR 570 Subpart E]:

Minors under 16

Food Service, Retail, and Gasoline Service Establishments

Minors under 16 MAY NOT be employed or permitted to work in the following occupations in retail, food service, and gasoline service establishments as provided in federal regulation and adopted by inclusion by the state of California [LC 1294.1; 29 CFR 570.34(b)]:

• Work performed in or about boiler or engine rooms;
• Work in connection with maintenance or repair of the establishment, machines, or equipment;
• All work requiring the use of ladders, scaffolds, or their substitutes, including outside window washing that involves working from sills;
• Cooking (except at soda fountains, lunch counters, snack bars, or cafeteria serving counters where such cooking is performed in plain sight of customers and is not the minor’s only duty);
• Baking;
• Occupations which involve operating, setting up, adjusting, cleaning, oiling, or repairing power-driven food slicers and grinders, food choppers, cutters, and bakery-type mixers;
• Work in freezers and meat coolers and all work in the preparation of meat for sale. Wrapping, sealing, labeling, weighing, pricing, and stocking goods are permitted but only if these duties are performed in areas physically separate from freezers and meat coolers.
• Loading and unloading goods to and from trucks, railroad cars, or conveyors;
• All occupations in warehouses except office and clerical work.

Note: The state of California has adopted higher standards than federal for minors employed in gasoline service establishments, but the prohibitions in this list apply to this age group under both federal and state law. (See Chapter 7 of this digest.)

Federal Prohibitions Adopted by California

Minors under 16 MAY NOT be employed or permitted to work in the following occupations prohibited by federal regulation and adopted by inclusion by the state of California [LC 1294.1, 29 CFR 570.33]:

• Manufacturing, mining, or processing occupations, including duties of any kind in workrooms or workplaces where goods are manufactured, mined, or processed.
• Occupations that involve the operation or tending of a hoisting apparatus or of any power-driven machinery other than office machines.
• The operation of motor vehicles or service as helpers on such vehicles.
• Public messenger service.
• Occupations in connection with:

• Transportation of persons or property by rail, highway, air, water, pipeline, or other means;
• Warehousing and storage;
• Communications and public utilities;
• Construction, including demolition and repair.

Note: Fourteen and fifteen-year-olds may work in these industries in the occupations generally permitted to them (and listed in Chapter 7 of this digest), but only if their duties are not performed on any media of transportation or at the actual site of construction [LC 1294.1, 29 CFR 570.33(e)].

Additional State Prohibitions

Minors under 16 MAY NOT be employed or permitted to work in any capacity in [LC 1292]:

Minors under 16 MAY NOT be employed or permitted to work in any capacity in operating or assisting in operating any of the following machines [LC 1293]:

Minors under 16 MAY NOT be employed or permitted to work in any capacity [LC 1294]:

Minors under 16 MAY NOT be employed or permitted to work in the following occupations declared hazardous in state regulation [LC 1296]:

Minors under 16 MAY NOT be exhibited, used or employed, or in any manner or under any pretense, sold, apprenticed, given away, let out, or disposed of by a parent, relative, guardian, employer or person otherwise having the care, custody or control of the minor to another person who causes, procures, or encourages the minor to engage in any of the following [LC 1308]:

Note: Entertainment activities are permitted under valid and current permits to work and employ issued by the Labor Commissioner. (See Chapter 9 of this digest.)

Federal Agricultural Prohibitions Adopted by California

Minors under 16 MAY NOT be employed or permitted to work in any of the following agricultural occupations declared hazardous in federal regulation and adopted by inclusion by the state of California [LC 1294.1(a), 29 CFR 570.71]:

• Operating a tractor of over 20 PTO horsepower, or connecting or disconnecting an implement or any of its parts to or from such a tractor.
• Operating or assisting to operate (including starting, stopping, adjusting, feeding, or any other activity involving physical contact associated with the operations) any of the following machines:

• Corn picker, cotton picker, grain combine, hay mower, forage harvester, hay baler, potato digger, or mobile pea viner;
• Power post-hole digger, power post driver, or nonwalking type rotary tiller.

• Operating or assisting to operate (including starting, stopping adjusting, feeding or any other activity involving physical contact associated with the operation) any of the following machines:

• Trencher or earthmoving equipment;
• Forklift;
• Potato combine; or
• Power-driven circular, band or chain saw.

• Working on a farm in a yard, pen, or stall occupied by a:

• Bull, boar, or stud horse maintained for breeding purposes; or
• Sow with suckling pigs, or cow with newborn calf (with umbilical cord present).

• Working from a ladder or scaffold (painting, repairing, or building structures, pruning trees, picking fruit, etc.) from a height of over 20 feet.
• Driving a bus, truck or automobile when transporting passengers or riding on a tractor as a passenger or helper.
• Working inside:

• A fruit, forage, or grain storage designed to retain an oxygen deficient or toxic atmosphere;
• An upright silo within 2 weeks after silage has been added or when a top unloading device is in operating position;
• A manure pit: or
• A horizontal silo while operating a tractor for packing purposes.

• Handling or applying (including cleaning or decontaminating equipment, disposal or return of empty containers, or serving as a flagman for aircraft applying agricultural chemicals classified under Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act [7 USC 135 et seq.] as Category I of toxicity, identified by the word, "poison," and the "skull and crossbones" on the label; or Category II of toxicity, identified by the word, "warning," on the label;
• Handling or using a blasting agent including but not limited to dynamite black powder, sensitized ammonium nitrate, blasting caps, and primer cord; or
• Transporting, transferring, or applying anhydrous ammonia.

Note: The terms describing machinery, equipment, or facilities in these agricultural occupations are defined in the current edition of Agricultural Engineering, a dictionary and handbook published by Interstate Printers and Publishers, Danville, Illinois. Copies are available for examination in the Regional Offices of the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor [29 CFR 570.71(b)]. Exception: Parent/guardian have a special exemption when employing their children in agricultural occupations that is explained in Chapter 10 of this digest.

Minors under 12—Agricultural Zone of Danger

Minors under 12 MAY NOT be employed or permitted to work or accompany or be permitted to accompany an employed parent or guardian in an agricultural zone of danger. "Agricultural zone of danger" means any of the following [LC 1293.1]:

• On or about moving equipment.
• In or about unprotected chemicals.
• In or about any protected water hazard.
• In any of the occupations declared hazardous for employment of minors under 16 in agriculture in Section 570.71 of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (See preceding list.)
• Other hazards that constitute a zone of danger as may be determined in the future by the California Department of Industrial Relations.

Exception: Minors of any age employed in agriculture, horticulture, viticulture, or domestic labor by their parents or guardians upon or in connection with premises the parent or guardian owns, operates, or controls are exempt from these restrictions [LC 1394].

Training for Prohibited & Restricted Occupations

With restrictions specified in federal regulation, student-learners and apprentices, who must be at least 16, MAY BE TRAINED ONLY in the following occupations declared hazardous by federal regulation [LC 1294.1, 29 CFR 570 Subpart E]:

• Occupations involved in the operation of power-driven woodworking machines [29 CFR 570.55 (H.O. 5)];
• Occupations involved in the operations of circular saws, band saws, and guillotine shears [29 CFR 570.65 (H.O. 14)];
• Occupations involved in the operations of power-driven metal forming, punching, and shearing machines [29 CFR 570.59 (H.O. 8)];
• Occupations in the operation of power-driven meat-processing machines and occupations involving slaughtering, meat packing or processing or rendering [29 CFR 570.61 (H.O. 10)];
• Occupations involved in the operation of paper-products machines [29 CFR 570.63 (H.O. 12)];
• Occupations in roofing operations [29 CFR 570.67 (H.O. 16)];
• Occupations in excavation operations [29 CFR 570.68 (H.O. 17)].

Student-learners must be enrolled in an approved cooperative vocational training program operated by state or local authorities. The student-learner must be employed under a written agreement that provides: (1) the work of the student-learner in the hazardous occupation is incidental to the training; (2) the work must be intermittent, brief, and closely supervised by a qualified and experienced person; (3) safety instructions must be given by the school and correlated by the employer with on-the-job training; (4) a schedule of organized and progressive work processes to be performed on the job must be prepared; (5) the written agreement must contain the name of the student-learner and the signatures of the employer and the school coordinator or principal; and (6) copies of the agreement must be kept on file by both the school and the employer [29 CFR 570.50(c) and Part 520]. Contact your local school district or the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor for information regarding programs for student-learners.

Apprentices must be in an approved apprenticeship program of a recognized apprenticeable trade. The work of the apprentice in the hazardous occupation must be incidental to the training. The work must also be intermittent and for short periods of time under the direct and close supervision of a journey-level employee as a necessary part of the training. Laws governing apprentices appear in Chapter 4 of Division 3 of the Labor Code commencing at Section 3070. Apprenticeship programs are governed by the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, a part of the California Department of Industrial Relations [LC 3070-3098, EC 51766, 29 CFR Parts 521 and 570.50(b)].

Minors under 16 MAY work in occupations otherwise prohibited by Labor Code Sections 1292, 1293, 1294, (listed above in this Chapter) and 1294.5 (gas station employment), but only in the following circumstances [LC 1295]:

• Courses of training in vocational or manual training schools or in state institutions;
  
• Training in an apprenticeship program established pursuant to Chapter 4 of Division 3 of the Labor Code, commencing at Section 3070;
  
• Work Experience Education programs conducted pursuant to the requirements of the Education Code [EC 51760, et seq.) if (1)] the Work Experience teacher or coordinator determines that the students have been sufficiently trained in the employment or work otherwise prohibited by these sections, (2) parents approve, and (3) the student’s principal or counselor determines that the progress of the student toward graduation will not be impaired.

Minors under 16 employed in agriculture MAY work in occupations declared hazardous in federal regulation for minors under 16 in agriculture, but only in the following circumstances [LC 1295, 29 CFR 570.72(a)]:

• Student-learners in a bona fide vocational agriculture program working in the hazardous occupation under a written agreement that provides that the work is incidental to training, and intermittent, for short periods of time, and under close supervision of a qualified person, and includes all of the following:

• Safety instructions given by the school and correlated with the student-learner’s on-the-job training;
• A schedule of organized and progressive work processes for the student-learner;
• The name of the student-learner; and
• he signature of the employer and a school authority, each of whom must keep copies of the agreement.

Fourteen and fifteen-year-olds who hold certificates of completion of either a tractor operation or a machine operation program of the United States Office of Education Vocational Agriculture Training Program and are working in the occupations for which they have been trained. These certificates are valid only for the agricultural hazardous occupations. Farmers employing minors who have completed this program must keep a copy of the certificate of completion on file with the minor’s records.

9. ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY

Defined

The entertainment industry is defined in state regulations as ". . . any organization, or individual, using the services of any minor in: motion pictures of any type (film, videotape, etc.), using any format (theatrical, film, commercial documentary, television program, etc.), by any medium (theater, television, videocassette, etc.); photography; recording; modeling; theatrical productions; publicity; rodeos; circuses; musical performances; and any other performances where minors perform to entertain the public." [8 CCR 11751]

Permits to Work and Permits to Employ

Minors aged 15 days* to 18 years employed in the entertainment industry (as defined above) must have a permit to work and employers must have a permit to employ issued by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement [LC 1308.5, 8 CCR 11751(b), 11752, 11753, and 11754]. These permits are also required for minors making phonographic recordings or who are employed as advertising or photographic models [LC 1308.5(a)(6) and (7)]. Permits are required even when the entertainment is noncommercial in nature [LC 1308.5(a)(5)].

Permits will not be issued if the environment is improper for the minor, the employment conditions are detrimental to the minor’s health, or if the minor’s education is hampered [LC 1308.6]. The Labor Commissioner may require school officials to investigate these employment conditions [LC 1308.6].

The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement issues two types of work permits, individual permits and blanket permits. Individual permits are issued for six months to the minor specifically named in the application and must be renewed in the same manner and under the same conditions as the original permit [8 CCR 11753(b)].

(8 CCR 11753(b)).

PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING AN ENTERTAINMENT WORK PERMIT

• Obtain the "Application for Permission to Work in the Entertainment Industry" from any Division of Labor Standards Enforcement office or online (See list of Division of Labor Standards Enforcement offices at the end of this digest).
• The minor’s parent or legal guardian must complete all of the requested information on the application, and print and sign her or his name.
• If the minor is of school age (first grade and above), an authorized school official (i.e., principal, vice principal, dean, headmistress, headmaster, counselor or the minor’s teacher) must complete the "School Record" portion of the application, sign his or her name and print his or her title or position, and affix the school's seal or stamp. (See "School Age Children" section below for more details).
• If the minor is not of school age (15 days through kindergarten) the minor’s parent or legal guardian must provide one of the following:

SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN

Although school officials may not issue work permits for employment in the entertainment industry, written verification from the minor’s school demonstrating a satisfactory academic and attendance record must accompany the application for an individual permit. The verification must come from an authorized school official. Minors who attend a charter school must obtain the written verification from either the minor’s school or the authority that granted the school’s charter. Minors who are schooled in a setting other than a public school classroom must obtain the written verification from either the local school district or the county office of education where the minor lives. Exceptions: (1) Minors who attend a private full-time day school [EC 48222] must obtain the written verification from the principal or other person having charge of the private school. (2) Minors who are instructed by a private tutor pursuant to EC 48224 must obtain the written verification from either the local school district or the county office of education where the minor lives. (3) Minors who participate in independent study through the local public school system [EC 51745, et seq.] must obtain the written verification from either the minor’s school, the local school district, or the county office of education where the minor lives. If school is not in session (i.e., school break, vacation, holiday, etc.), either the minor’s most recent report card or a letter on school letterhead from the principal or other person having charge of the minor’s school, or a letter on district letterhead from an official of the local school district where the minor lives, or a letter on the county board of education's letterhead from an official of that agency indicating that the minor’s scholastic record, attendance and health are all satisfactory or better, is required. An entertainment work permit based on the minor’s report card or any of the aforementioned letters will be effective only for the particular period during which the minor’s school is not in session. If a minor is from out of state, either the minor’s most recent report card or a letter on school letterhead from the principal or head administrator of the minor’s school indicating that the minor’s scholastic record, attendance and health are all satisfactory or better is required.

The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement may also require a physical examination to ensure that the minor is physically able to perform the duties required [8 CCR 11753].

Blanket permits are issued for groups of minors hired for special events or particular productions lasting a limited time [8 CCR 11754]. Employers obtain these permits after demonstrating proof of workers’ compensation coverage and that a parent or guardian will accompany each group of 20 minors or fraction thereof [8 CCR 11754]. The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement requires that school verification and parental consent forms for each minor accompany the application. Minors are not individually named on the permit, but a list of minors’ names submitted by the employer is attached. Appropriate numbers of studio teachers must be supplied [8 CCR 11754]. Special arrangements must be made for groups of 100 minors or more [8 CCR 11754]. These permits expire at the end of the special event for which they are issued.

Employers in the entertainment industry must possess a Permit to Employ Minors in the Entertainment Industry issued by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement when employing minors under either an individual or blanket permit [8 CCR 11751(b)]. Application forms for these permits may be obtained from any Division of Labor Standards Enforcement office. Employers must demonstrate proof of workers’ compensation coverage. The permit is issued for an indefinite period, but the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement's policy requires that any interruption of workers’ compensation requires a new application. Permits to employ may be denied, revoked, or suspended for any violation of law or regulation or any discrimination against a studio teacher for performing duties authorized and required by law and regulation for the protection of their minor charges [8 CCR 11758 and 11758.1].

Exception: Minors of any age may appear in the following venues without permits [LC 1310]:

• In any church, public or religious school, or community entertainment;
• In any school entertainment or in any entertainment for charity or for children, for which no admission fee is charged;
• In any radio or television broadcasting exhibition, where the minor receives no compensation directly or indirectly therefor, and where the engagement of the minor is limited to a single appearance lasting not more than one hour, and where no admission fee is charged for the radio broadcasting or television exhibition;
• At any one event during a calendar year, occurring on a day on which school attendance is not required or on the day preceding such a day, lasting four hours or less, where a parent or guardian of the minor is present, for which the minor does not directly or indirectly receive any compensation.
• High school graduates and minors who have been awarded a certificate of proficiency pursuant to EC 48412 (such certificate being equivalent to a high school diploma), also do not require permits [LC 1286(c), 8 CCR 11750].

Excused School Absences

A school may excuse the absences of a pupil who holds an entertainment work permit or who participates with a not-for-profit arts organization in a performance for a public school audience [EC 48225.5]. The law limits the number of excused absences for a child holding an entertainment work permit to five absences per school year, each of which may consist of up to five days. A child who is absent due to participation in a non-profit public school performance is limited to five excused absences per school year.

A child who receives an excused absence for participation in a not-for-profit arts organization performance at a public school must be allowed to make up missed assignments and receive credit for all work satisfactorily completed. A child excused from school attendance because of employment in the entertainment industry must be instructed during the absence by a studio teacher certified by the Labor Commissioner in accordance with Section 11755 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations. All work, grades, and credit that the pupil completes with the studio teacher must be accepted by the school district or county superintendent of schools [EC 48225.5].

Hours of Work & Concurrent Requirements

Minors in the entertainment industry may not work more than eight hours in a day [LC 1308.7 and 1392] or more than 48 hours in a week [LC 1308.7]. They may only work between the hours of 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. (to 12:30 a.m. on days preceding a nonschoolday) [LC 1308.7]. "Schoolday" means any day that a minor is required to attend school for 240 minutes or more [LC 1308.7]. Exception: Upon the Labor Commissioner’s approval following a written request (submitted 48 hours in advance), a minor aged eight to 18 may continue his or her part past 10 p.m. up to 12 midnight preceding a schoolday in a "presentation, play, or drama" which begins before 10 p.m. [LC 1308.5(a)(4)]. This exception may never be construed to allow the minor to be at the place of employment more than the maximum number of hours permitted in law or regulation. In addition, state regulation establishes minimum workhour standards for individual age groups as described below.

Infants aged 15 days to 6 months may be at the place of employment for one period of two consecutive hours, which must occur between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. or between 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. [8 CCR 11764]. Actual work may not exceed 20 minutes under any circumstances [8 CCR 11760]. Infants may not be exposed to light exceeding 100 foot-candles for more than 30 seconds at a time. A studio teacher and a nurse must be present for each three or fewer infants aged 15 days to six weeks. A studio teacher and a nurse must be present for each 10 or fewer infants aged six weeks to six months [8 CCR 11755.2 and 11760]. A parent or guardian must always be present [8 CCR 11757].

Minors aged six months to two years may be at the place of employment for up to four hours, and may work up to two hours. The remaining time must be reserved for the minor’s rest and recreation [8 CCR 11760].

Minors aged two years to six years may be at the place of employment for up to six hours, and may work up to three hours. The remaining time must be reserved for the minor’s rest and recreation [8 CCR 11760].

Minors aged six years to nine years when school is in session may be at the place of employment for up to eight hours, the sum of four hours work, three hours schooling, and one hour of rest and recreation. When school is not in session, work time may be increased up to six hours, with one hour of rest and recreation [8 CCR 11760].

Minors aged nine years to 16 years when school is in session may be at the place of employment for up to nine hours, the sum of five hours work, three hours schooling, and one hour of rest and recreation. When school is not in session, work time may be increased up to seven hours, with one hour of rest and recreation [8 CCR 11760].

All minors aged six months to 16 years must be provided with one studio teacher for each group of 10 or fewer minors when school is in session, and for each group of 20 or fewer minors on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or during school vacations [8 CCR 11755.1]. In addition to the studio teacher, a parent or guardian must always be present [8 CCR 11757].

Exception: Minors under 16 do not require the presence of a studio teacher for up to one hour for wardrobe, make-up, hairdressing, promotional publicity, personal appearances, or audio recording if these activities are not on the set, if school is not in session, and if the parent or guardian is present [8 CCR 11762].

Minors aged 16 years to 18 years when school is in session may be at the place of employment for up to 10 hours, the sum of six hours work, three hours schooling, and one hour of rest and recreation. When school is not in session, work time may be increased up to eight hours, with one hour of rest and recreation [8 CCR 11760]. Studio teachers need only be present for the minors’ schooling, if schooling is still required [8 CCR 11760]. A parent or guardian need not be present.

The time minors may be permitted at the place of employment may be extended by no more than one-half hour for a duty-free meal period [8 CCR 11761].

All travel time between the studio and a location counts as work time. Up to 45 minutes travel from on-location overnight lodging to a worksite is not generally considered work time. Travel between school or home and the studio is not work time [8 CCR 11759].

All time spent in make-up or hairdressing in the minor's home, with the assistance of studio personnel, is considered work time. No make-up person or hairdresser may work on a minor in the minor’s home before 8:30 a.m. Twelve hours must elapse between the time the minor is dismissed on one day and the time make-up or hairdressing begins on the following day [8 CCR 11763].

Twelve hours must elapse between the minor's time of dismissal and call time on the following day. If the minor's regular school starts less than 12 hours after his or her dismissal time, the minor must be schooled the following day at the employer's place of business [8 CCR 11760(i)].

Minors who attend regular school may not work in the entertainment industry for the same number of hours as minors tutored by studio teachers. Minors tutored by studio teachers need only be instructed for three hours a day [EC 48224; 8 CCR 11760] while minors in regular school are generally required to attend school for a much longer time. Clearly, minors who attend regular school cannot assume the same workhour burden as tutored minors. Consequently, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement adopted an enforcement policy for minors who attend regular school. This policy computes the length of the workday for minors who attend regular school by subtracting six hours from the maximum number of hours that tutored minors are permitted on set when school is in session. For example, tutored minors nine to 16 years of age are permitted to be on set for up to nine hours, therefore minors who attended regular school on a workday would be permitted to be on set for up to three hours. Such workdays for minors attending regular school do not require a one-hour rest and recreation period, but they may be extended one-half hour by a meal period. Finally, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement’s policy always assumes that the minor who attends regular school always attends for at least six hours. Thus, in an effort to safeguard the minor’s educational interests, an artificially shortened regular schoolday is never allowed to result in an employer benefit of extended work hours.

Nothing in the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement’s policy for minors who attend regular school may be construed to allow those minors to work during regular school hours. The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement’s policy is specifically designed to dissuade any interruption of a minor’s regular school attendance requirements. There is only one exception. A minor 14 years of age or older who attends regular school may work up to eight hours during regular school hours for each of two consecutive days upon the written permission of the minor’s school [8 CCR 11760(h)].

No law exempts minors employed in the entertainment industry from any of the prohibited occupations listed in Chapters 7 and 8 of this digest, except those entertainment activities cited in Labor Code Section 1308.

Neither studio teachers nor the Labor Commissioner are empowered to waive—at any time or under any circumstances—any minimum labor standard established in law or regulation. Exception: The special exemption described above allowing minors aged 8 to 18 to work past 10 p.m. up to 12 midnight on a school night.

Wages

As set forth in the IWC Orders (Section 1(B) of Orders 11 and 12), professional actors are exempt from the minimum wage and overtime pay requirements of the California Industrial Welfare Commission. Minors employed in the entertainment industry who are not p