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SD DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

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The “Cans and Can’ts” of Youth Employment

The following is a summary from the U.S. Department of Labor’s YouthRules! website on some of the legalities involved with youth employment.

Beginning at age 18, young people can work any job for any number of hours. The child labor rules no longer apply to them.

What jobs youth can do

16 year olds can …

work in any job or occupation that has not been declared hazardous by the U.S. Secretary of Labor. Those 16 and older can also work any day, any time of day, and for any number of hours. There are no restrictions on the work hours worked by youth age 16 or older.

Hazardous occupations off limits to those 16 and 17 include:

• manufacturing and storing of explosives,
• driving a motor vehicle and being an outside helper on a motor vehicle;
• coal mining,
• logging and sawmilling,
• power-driven woodworking machines,
• exposure to radioactive substances,
• power-driven hoisting apparatus,
• power-driven metal-forming, punching, and shearing machines,
• mining, other than coal mining,
• meat packing or processing (including the use of power-driven meat slicing machines),
• power-driven bakery machines,
• power-driven paper-product machines,
• manufacturing brick, tile, and related products,
• power-driven circular saws, band saws, and guillotine shears,
• wrecking, demolition, and shipbreaking operations,
• roofing operations and all work on or about a roof, or
• excavation operations.

There are some exemptions for apprentice/student-learner programs in some of these hazardous occupations. Click here for more information on prohibited occupations. Different rules also apply to farm jobs.

How about work opportunities for younger workers?

Those 13 or younger can . . .

  • deliver newspapers.

  • work as a baby-sitter.

  • work as an actor or performer in motion pictures, television, theater or radio.

  • work in a business solely owned or operated by your parents.

  • work on a farm owned or operated by your parents.

However, parents are prohibited from employing their children in manufacturing, mining, or any other occupation declared hazardous (listed below) by the Secretary of Labor. Different rules apply to farm jobs, and there are other exemptions from Child Labor Rules as well.

14 and 15 year olds can work in an

• office,
• grocery store,
• retail store,
• restaurant,
• movie theater,
• baseball park,
• amusement park, or
• gasoline service station.

They generally may not work in:

  • Communications or public utilities jobs

  • Construction or repair jobs

  • Driving a motor vehicle or helping a driver

  • Manufacturing and mining occupations

  • Power-driven machinery or hoisting apparatus other than typical office machines

  • Processing occupations

  • Public messenger jobs

  • Transporting of persons or property

  • Workrooms where products are manufactured, mined or processed, or
    Warehousing and storage

For more information on youth labor laws and opportunities for positive and safe work experiences for young workers, see the YouthRules! website hosted by the U.S. Department of Labor.

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If you have questions or need more information, contact Melodee Lane of the Labor Market Information Center at (605) 626-2314 or e-mail her at melodee.lane@state.sd.us.