Commonwealth of Virginia

Virginia Department of Labor and Industry

Division of Labor and Employment Law

A. Work Permits E. Prohibited Employment

B. Hours of Work F. Enforcement
C. Time Records G. Federal Laws
D. What Teenagers Can Do

13 South Thirteenth Street

Richmond, Virginia 23219
(804) 371-2327
http://www.doli.state.va.us
 Summary of Virginia’s Child Labor Laws

To employ a teenager in Virginia, an employer must comply with the Commonwealth’s child labor
laws, which are found in the Code of Virginia at §§ 40.1-78 through 40.1-116. This pamphlet summa-
rizes the major requirements of these laws. If you have questions not covered by this pamphlet, call
one of the offices listed here or visit our Web site at http://www.doli.state.va.us.

In addition, in areas where classifications and examples are used, the pamphlet only highlights the
occupations or areas that most frequently arise as questions. You should always visit our Web site to
obtain a current, complete version of the law and regulations.

A. Work Permits Are Required Who Issues Work Permits

In Virginia, every teenager 14 or 15 years of Work permits may be obtained at most pub-
age must have an employment certificate lic high schools and many private schools.
(work permit) to work at a job. The only Students who are home schooled should visit
exceptions to this requirement are listed the nearest high school in order to obtain a
below. work permit. In addition, students who live
out of state during the school year must wait
until they arrive in Virginia to obtain a work
Exceptions: Jobs For Which Work permit. They may also visit the nearest high
school once they arrive in Virginia.
Permits Are Not Required

1. On farms, in gardens, and in orchards

that are operated by a parent or How to Obtain a Work Permit
guardian.
Teenagers can get the forms they need from
2. Work around the home for parents. their local school. These forms are:

3. Volunteer work. (1) Intention to Employ: This form is filled out

by the employer. The employer must
4. Non-manufacturing jobs where a parent state clearly the kind of work the teenag-
owns the business. er will be performing, the number of days
per week, the number of hours per day,
5. Page or clerk for either the House of and the amount of time given for lunch
Delegates or Senate of Virginia. periods.

6. Occasional work around someone else’s (2) Permission for Employment: This form is
home, such as yard work. filled out by the parent. It is best if the
teenager and parent go together to the
7. Work performed for state or local gov- school to sign the form. If necessary the
ernment. parent may submit a notarized statement
giving permission for the teenager to
Minimum Age work.

Along with these two forms, the teenager

With certain limited exceptions, children
should bring evidence of his or her age, such
under the age of fourteen are not permitted
as:
to work. Therefore, children under fourteen
are not issued work permits. 1. Birth certificate

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2. Baptismal record can be obtained from any school that issues
work permits; the teenager only has to sub-
3. Insurance policy at least one year old mit acceptable evidence proving his or her
age.
4. School record

5. Passport B. Hours of Work

Teenagers sixteen and seventeen years of

Who Keeps the Work Permit age have no restrictions on their hours of
work.
Three copies of the work permit are issued.
Teenagers fourteen and fifteen years of age
(1) The teenager takes the first copy to the engaged in non-agricultural work may not
employer. The employer must keep that work:
copy at the work place. If the teenager
changes jobs, a new work permit must - During school hours unless they are
be issued for the new job. The teenager enrolled in a school work-training pro-
may not use the same permit that was gram.
issued to the previous employer.
- More than forty hours in any one week
(2) The second copy is kept on file at the when school is not in session.
school.
- More than eighteen hours in any one
(3) The third copy, along with the Intention week when school is in session.
to Employ and Parent’s Permission forms,
is sent to the Virginia Department of - More than eight hours in any one day
Labor and Industry by the Issuing Officer when school is not in session.
at each school.
- More than three hours in any one day
when school is in session.
Permits May be Refused and Revoked - Before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m., except that
from June 1 through Labor Day, the
Work permits can be revoked if they are teenager may work until 9 p.m.
obtained by misrepresentation or by mistake.
In addition, a permit will not be issued in a - Five hours of continuous work without a
case where it is apparent from the support- 30-minute rest or meal period.
ing documentation that the requirements of
the child labor laws and regulations are not Teenagers fourteen and fifteen years of age
being met. engaged in agricultural work may not work:

- During school hours unless they are

Age Certificates are Recommended employed by their parents on farms, in
gardens or orchards owned by their par-
Employers who are inspected must prove the ents.
age of their employees. The Department
recommends that employers obtain and - Five hours of continuous work without a
keep on file age certificates so they can 30-minute break.
easily prove the age of their employees.
Any state or federal labor representative will NOTE: According to 16 VAC 15-40-10, "school
accept an age certificate. Age certificates hours" means those periods when the school
3
attended by the minor is in regular session, C. Time Records
and does not include hours before and after
school, Saturdays and Sundays, holidays, or Under Virginia’s child labor laws, all employ-
school vacations, including summer vaca- ers must keep time records on teenagers
tions. If the minor does not attend school, they employ. The records must meet the fol-
"school hours" shall mean the school hours of lowing requirements:
the school district in which the minor is cur-
rently living. - Must be kept for all teenagers under 16.

- Must be kept at the place of work.

Youths twelve and thirteen years of age:
- Must show the beginning and ending
- Newspaper carriers cannot work before 4 time of work each day and the time
a.m., and are otherwise subject to the given for a meal or rest period.
hours of work limitations.
- Must be kept for at least three years from
- Youths working on farms, in gardens, and the last date of teenager’s employment.
in orchards can work outside of school
hours with parental consent.
D. What Teenagers Can Do Under
Virginia’s Child Labor Laws
Teenagers of any age:
The Virginia Department of Labor and
There are no restrictions on the hours of work Industry supports the employment of
in the following situations: teenagers in any job allowed by law that
does not endanger the teenager’s health,
- Non-manufacturing jobs where the safety, or well-being.
teenager’s parent owns the business.
Teenagers under the age of 18 cannot be
- Page or clerk for either the House of employed in occupations determined to be
Delegates or the Senate of Virginia. hazardous by the Commissioner of Labor
and Industry.
- Work around the home for a parent.

- Work on farms, in gardens, and in

orchards that the parents own or oper- Age Sixteen:
ate.
Teenagers at least sixteen years old may
- Theatrical performers who have obtained work at many jobs in:***
a valid theatrical permit from the Virginia
Department of Labor and Industry. - Manufacturing

- Work performed for state or local govern- - Construction trades

ment.
- Garages and auto repair shops
- Activities performed for a volunteer res-
cue squad. - Canneries

NOTE: Teens who are performing occasional - Laundries and dry cleaners
work around someone else’s home, such as
yard work, cannot work during school hours. - Hospitals and nursing homes

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- Radio and TV repair - Retail stores

- Hotels and motels - Office work

- Printing and publishing firms - Radio & TV stations

- Processing - Gasoline service establishments

- Wholesale houses - Skating rinks

- Feed mills - Hotel and motel food service depart-

ments
- School bus drivers
- Concessions and gatekeepers at swim-
- Fire fighting except entering “burning ming pools
structures”
- Branch stores of laundries and dry clean-
- Undertaking establishments and funeral ing establishments where no processing is
homes performed on the premises

- Theaters - Veterinary establishments

- Scaffolding work - Kennels

- Fairs and carnivals - Helper on commercial vehicles or trucks

with no more than two axles
- Ice plants
- Greenhouses and nurseries
- Service of veterinarian when treating
farm animals or horses - Insurance and real estate

- Warehouses - Cutting grass

***NOTE: Teenagers may not operate cer- - Caddies

tain machinery which has been declared
hazardous in regulations issued by the - Kitchen work, tray service, and hall clean-
Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, ing in hospitals and nursing homes
even though the industry or occupation
appears on the list above. A list of these - Advertising agencies
occupations is available on our Web site at
www.doli.state.va.us or from our regional ***NOTE: Teenagers may not operate cer-
offices. tain machinery which has been declared
hazardous in regulations issued by the
Virginia Department of Labor and Industry,
Age Fourteen: even though the industry or occupation
appears on the list above. A list of these
occupations is available on our Web site at
Teenagers at least fourteen years old may
www.doli.state.va.us or from our regional
work at many jobs in:***
offices.
- Restaurants

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 Age Twelve: - Grinding, abrasive, polishing, or buffing
machines
Youths at least twelve years of age may:
- Preparation of compositions using poison -
- Deliver newspapers ous or dangerous chemicals

- Work on farms, in gardens, or in orchards - Manufacture of paints, colors, or white

with parental or guardian consent lead

- Manufacture or delivery of alcoholic bev-

- Be a referee at sporting events sponsored
erages
by an eleemosynary organization or gov-
ernmental unit
- Establishments where consumption of
alcoholic beverages is the main business

Any age: - Driver or helper on truck or commercial

vehicle with more than two axles
Youths may:
The following occupations have been
- Perform in theatrical performances with declared hazardous by regulations promul -
a permit obtained from this Department gated by the Commissioner of Labor and
Industry:
- Work on a parent’s farm, garden, or
orchard - Manufacturing or storage occupations
involving explosives
- Work in a parent’s non-agricultural busi-
ness (except for manufacturing or haz- - Motor vehicle occupations
ardous jobs)
- Logging and sawmilling occupations
- Work as a page or clerk in the General
Assembly - Power-driven woodworking machine
occupations
- Work for a public employer
- Occupations involving exposure to
radioactive substances and to ionizing
E. Employment Prohibited Under Virginia radiations
Law - Power-driven hoisting apparatus occupa-
tions
Certain occupations and job tasks are pro-
hibited for teenagers. - Power-driven metal forming, punching,
and shearing machine occupations

Age Eighteen: - Occupations in connection with any min-

ing operation
Teenagers under eighteen years of age may
- Occupations involving slaughtering,
not work in the following places or occupa-
meat-packing or processing or rendering
tions:
- Power-driven bakery machine occupa-
- Any occupation that exposes them to a
tions
recognized hazard capable of causing
seriously physical harm or death

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- Power-driven paper products machine - Warehouses
occupations
- Processing in dry cleaners or laundries
- Occupations involved in the manufac-
ture of brick, tile, and kindred products - Undertaking establishment or funeral
home
- Occupations involved in the operation of
power-driven circular saws, band saws, - Curb service restaurant
and guillotine shears
- Hotel and motel room service
- Occupations involved in wrecking, dem-
olition, and shipbreaking operations - Ice plant

- Occupations in roofing operations - Ushers in theaters

- Occupations in excavation operations - Brick, coal, or lumber yard

- Fire fighting - Outdoor theater

- Cabaret, carnival, fair, floor show, pool

hall, club, or roadhouse
Age Sixteen:
- Lifeguard at a beach
Teenagers under sixteen may not work in the
following places or occupations:

- Solicitation trades, except in connection

F. Enforcement Procedures
with non-profit organizations
The Virginia Department of Labor and
- Street trades, except in connection with Industry may inspect businesses at any time
non-profit organizations during business hours. Representatives may
tour the work place and examine any
- Manufacturing or mechanical establish- records of employment, such as payroll, time
ments cards, and work permits. They may interview
any employee. Anyone who illegally
- Construction trades employs a minor may be subject to a civil
money penalty of up to $1,000 for each vio-
- Scaffolding lation of the child labor provisions. When a
civil money penalty is assessed against an
- Commercial canneries employer, the employer may, within fifteen
days after receipt of the notice of such
- Operation of any passenger or freight penalty, notify the Virginia Department of
elevator Labor and Industry by certified mail that they
wish to contest the penalty.
- Dance studio
Under Virginia Code §40.1-112, a solicitation
- Laboratory helper, therapist, orderly, or permit must be obtained from the
nurse’s aide in an establishment provid- Commissioner of Labor and Industry to
ing resident patient care employ a child who is at least sixteen, in any
trade in a street or other public place,
- Service of a veterinarian in treating of including the sales of candy, books, and
farm animals or horses subscriptions for periodicals. A violation of
this law is a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable
by a year in prison and a $2,500 fine.
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 G. Federal Laws May Apply

Even though a teenager between the ages of fourteen and eighteen years old may be in com-
pliance with Virginia law, the teenager or his or her employer may nevertheless be in violation of
the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Employers who are covered by federal law should check
carefully to insure that they are in compliance with federal as well as Virginia law. Whenever
state and federal law differ, the more stringent standard applies. For answers to any question
regarding federal laws and rules on child labor, please contact the Wage and Hour Division of
the United States Department of Labor or visit that agency’s Web site at www.dol.gov.

Commonwealth of Virginia
Department of Labor and Industry
Division of Labor and Employment Law
Richmond Headquarters Receptionist: (804) 371-2327
Labor and Employment Law: (804) 786-2386
Fax: (804) 371-2324
Web site: http://www.doli.state.va.us

Richmond Regional Office (804) 371-0442 Abingdon Field Office (276) 676-5465

Northern Virginia Regional Office (703) 392-0900 Lynchburg Field Office (434) 385-0806

Tidewater Regional Office (757) 455-0891

Southwest Regional Office (540) 562-3580

Verona Field Office (540) 248-9280

Published by the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry

Last Revised June 2003
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