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Virginia Child Labor Laws for Teens 14-and 15-years

Old Employment Certificate Code of Virginia §§ 40.1-84 to 96

Teenagers who are 14- and 15- years old are required by Virginia Law to obtain an Employment Certificate (work permit) before they can start working.

Steps to getting an Employment Certificate:

1. Find a job.

2. Go to the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry website www.doli.virginia.gov where the 2 forms necessary to apply for an Employment Certificate are available for download.

3. Either take the Employer Intent to Employ form to your employer or have them get it from the website and completely fill it out. You must mail this form along with the Permission to Employ form mentioned in step 4.

4. Have your parent, guardian or custodian fill out the Permission to Employ form. The signature of your parent, guardian or custodian on this form must be notarized.

5. Mail both forms to the address at the bottom of the form.

6. Upon approval the Department will mail the Employment Certificate to your new employer.

The certificate will become valid upon your signature. This process may take 7 to 10 business days during which time you may not work.

Hours Code of Virginia §40.1-80.1 Teens 14-and 15-years old are restricted in the hours they can work. All minors aged 14-and 15- years old must receive a thirty-minute, uninterrupted break after every five consecutive hours of work. Even if a teen 14- or 15-years old wants to work more hours, their employers are legally required to only work them within the hours listed below:

School Year • 7 A.M. to 7 P.M. • Not during school time • They can start delivering newspapers at 4 A.M. • 3 Hours on a School Day • 18 Hours for a School Week • 8 Hours on a Non-School day • 40 Hours for a Non-School Week

Summer (June 1 through Labor Day) • 7 A.M. to 9 P.M. • Not during school time • They can start delivering newspapers at 4 A.M. • 3 Hours on a School Day • 18 Hours for a School Week • 8 Hours a Non-School Day • 40 Hours a Non-School Week

Record Keeping Requirements The Code of Virginia §40.1-81.1 • All time records must remain at the work site for three years. • All time records must contain clock-in and clock-out times for all hours worked . • Clock-in and clock-out time for break periods must be recorded . • The Employment Certificate must remain at the work site.

Permitted Jobs for 14-and 15-year Olds (including but not limited to): • Any Office Job -Kitchen Helper (no cooking except at snack • Cashier for a dry cleaners (as long as no processing is done on site) • Kitchen Duties and Room/Hallway cleaning at hospitals and nursing homes • Food Service - Wait staff (no dispensing alcohol) -Cashier -Dishwashing bars, soda counters and cafeteria counters) • Bowling alleys • Swimming Pool -Concessions -Gatekeeper -Lifeguard **Must be at least 15-years old with documented Red Cross or similar certification

Restricted Jobs for Teens Under 16-years Old Code of Virginia §40. 1-100 B, C, and D• Mechanical Establishments • Lifeguarding at the Beach • Commercial Canneries • Soliciting • Automatic Passenger or Freight Elevators • Manufacturing • Dance Studio: Dance Club • Transportation • Providing Care for Patients • Warehousing and Storage • Laboratory Helper, Therapist, Orderly, or • Communications and Public Utilities Nurse's Aide • Boiler or Engine Rooms • Veterinary Hospital • Maintenance or Repair • Undertaking or Funeral Home • Outside Window Washing with Ladders, • Curb Service at a Restaurant Scaffolds, or a Substitute • Hotel or Motel Room Service • Cooking and Baking • Brick, Coal, or Lumber Yards • In Freezer and Meat Coolers • Ice Plants • Loading and Unloading Goods • Ushers in Theaters • Pits, Racks, or Lifting Apparatus • Scaffolding Work or Construction • Inflating Tires Mounted on Rim with a • Outdoor Theaters, Carnivals, Fairs Floor Removable Retaining Ring Shows, Pool Halls, Clubs, or Roadhouses • Power-Driven Equipment: Golf Carts, Mowers, and Cutters

Hazardous Occupations Prohibited for All Minors Under 18 Code of Virginia § 40.1-100 A • Manufacturing or storing explosives • Manufacturing Brick, Tile, or Kindred • Logging and Sawmilling Products • Power-Driven Woodworking Machines • Power-Driven Saws • Exposure to Radioactive Substances or • Wrecking, Demolition, Shipbreaking Ionizing Radiation • Roofing • Power-Driven Hoisting Apparatus • Excavation • Power-Driven Metal Forming Machines • Fire Fighting • Mining • Serving Alcoholic Beverages • Slaughtering, Meat-Packing • Manufacturing Paints, Colors, or White • Power-Driven Bakery Machines Lead • Power-Driven Paper Product Machines • Preparing and Using Dangerous, Poisonous Chemicals

Driving at Work Code of Virginia § 40.1-100 A Driving is prohibited for minors 16 and younger. There are strict limits on when a 17-year-old may drive as part of their job.

Source: Questions? Call The Division of Labor and Employment Law (804) 371-3104 x 131. This reference is produced to provide general information on youth employment. For interpretive questions, please contact us.