The U.S. Department of
Labor (DOL) has proposed strengthening existing child labor regulations under
the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to protect against workplace
hazards and expand certain youth workplace opportunities that have been judged
safe and permissible. According to the agency, the proposal “contains the most
ambitious and far-reaching revisions to the child labor regulations in the last
30 years.” The last time the regulations were modified was in 2004.
Notably, the DOL’s new
proposal would expand the list of jobs considered to be “particularly hazardous”—
and thus, off-limits—for anyone 17 years of age or younger. They would include
working at poultry slaughtering plants, riding as passengers on forklifts,
fighting forest fires, and loading and operating non-paper products balers and
compactors. The new rules would also bar employing 14- and 15-year-olds in
door-to-door sales.
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The DOL also seeks to
expand employment opportunities for 14- and 15-year-olds in industries like
advertising, banking, and information technology. The proposal would also for
the first time specifically permit these young teens to perform work of a
mental or artistically creative nature, such as computer programming, software
development, tutoring, serving as a peer counselor or teacher’s assistant, singing,
playing a musical instrument, and drawing.