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A 13-year-old in Laredo runs the register at her parents' taqueria after school. Her 15-year-old cousin wants to help at his dad's cabinet shop, cutting boards on the table saw. Both are working for family. Federal law treats them differently, because the family exemption has limits that follow the kind of work, not only who owns the business.
Why a federal rule applies at all
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA, the federal law on minimum wage and child labor) sets the national child labor rules. In Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918), the U.S. Supreme Court said Congress could not ban goods made with child labor from crossing state lines. In United States v. Darby (1941), the Court upheld the FLSA and overruled Hammer, holding that Congress can set labor standards for work connected to trade between states.
That is why the exemptions below come from Congress. Your state can add stricter rules on top, and when both apply, the stricter one is the one to follow.
The parent-owned business exemption
The U.S. Department of Labor's Fact Sheet 43 says children of any age are generally allowed to work for businesses entirely owned by their parents. So the 13-year-old at the taqueria register is within the federal rule, even though a 13-year-old generally cannot work at a restaurant owned by someone else.
There are two limits. Those under 16 may not work in mining or manufacturing, even for a parent. And no one under 18 may work in a job the Secretary of Labor has declared hazardous. A cabinet shop is manufacturing, and power saws are on the hazardous list, so the 15-year-old cousin is outside the exemption.
Fact Sheet 43 is specific here. One hazardous order bans most power-driven woodworking machines, including sanders and nailing machines. Another bans running circular saws, band saws, and chain saws, and it also bans working as a helper on them. So even holding boards for his dad at the saw is off limits until he turns 18. Sweeping the shop floor or answering the phone is a different question, and the manufacturing limit for under-16s still applies.
Notice the word 'entirely.' A shop owned by an aunt, or co-owned by a parent and a business partner, does not match those words. Ask the Department of Labor before assuming the exemption covers it.
Family farms and where to check
Farms have a wider rule. The Department of Labor's Fact Sheet 40 says youths of any age may work at any time in any job on a farm owned or operated by their parents. On a farm owned by someone else, the ages rise: 16 for any farm job, and 14 or 15 only for non-hazardous jobs outside school hours.
If you are not sure whether a family job fits, call the Wage and Hour Division (the federal office that enforces child labor law) at 1-866-487-9243. Also look up your state labor department's youth employment page, since some states limit hours or require a work permit even for family businesses.
Lembre-se disto
- Kids of any age can generally work in a business entirely owned by their parents under federal law.
- Even for a parent, no mining or manufacturing under 16, and no hazardous jobs under 18.
- On a farm your parents own or operate, federal law allows any job at any age.
- United States v. Darby (1941) upheld Congress's power over child labor; states can add stricter rules.
Fontes
- U.S. Dept. of Labor: Fact Sheet 43, Child labor provisions for nonagricultural occupations (abre em uma nova aba)
- U.S. Dept. of Labor: Fact Sheet 40, Child labor provisions for agricultural occupations (abre em uma nova aba)
- Cornell LII: United States v. Darby, 312 U.S. 100 (1941) (abre em uma nova aba)
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