Recently, several incidents of illegal child labor were reported in news outlets, some in industries adjacent to farms such as meat packing. It’s a good time to revisit the rules for youth employment in agriculture to ensure that our industry is in full compliance. Both federal and state laws govern the age at which youths can work on farms, the hours they can work, and the tasks they can perform. These restrictions are in place because young people may not have the physical ability or judgment that adults bring to the job, thus increasing the risks to which they are exposed; and because young people need to focus on getting an education without excessive distractions from work.
New York law is more restrictive than federal law in many cases!
Federal law
Federal law provides no restriction for youths working on a farm owned or operated by their parents. All of this federal information is summarized in Fact Sheet #40 from the U.S. Department of Labor. The following limits apply for youth not working on their parents’ farm:
Federal Youth Age Limits
| Age | Limits |
| 16 and older | May work in any farm job at any time. |
| 14 and 15 | May work outside school hours in jobs not declared hazardous by the Secretary of Labor. |
| 12 and 13 | May work outside of school hours in non-hazardous jobs on farms that also employ their parent(s) or with written parental consent. |
| Under 12 years of age | May work outside of school hours in non-hazardous jobs with parental consent, but only on farms where none of the employees are subject to the minimum wage requirements of the FLSA. |
| Local youths 10 and 11 | May hand harvest short-season crops outside school hours for no more than 8 weeks between June 1 and October 15 if their employers have obtained special waivers from the Secretary of Labor. |
Federal Youth Task Restrictions
Youth under 16 are restricted from performing a number of tasks declared hazardous by the Secretary of Labor. I’ve highlighted several of particular importance. Federal hazardous tasks include:
- operating a tractor of over 20 PTO horsepower, or connecting or disconnecting an implement or any of its parts to or from such a tractor;
- operating or working with a corn picker, cotton picker, grain combine, hay mower, forage harvester, hay baler, potato digger, mobile pea viner, feed grinder, crop dryer, forage blower, auger conveyor, unloading mechanism of a nongravity-type self-unloading wagon or trailer, power post-hole digger, power post driver, or nonwalking-type rotary tiller;
- operating or working with a trencher or earthmoving equipment, fork lift, potato combine, or power-driven circular, band or chain saw;
- working in a yard, pen, or stall occupied by a bull, boar, or stud horse maintained for breeding purposes; a sow with suckling pigs; or a cow with a newborn calf (with umbilical cord present);
- felling, buckling, skidding, loading, or unloading timber with a butt diameter or more than 6 inches;
- working from a ladder or scaffold at a height of over 20 feet;
- driving a bus, truck or automobile to transport passengers, or riding on a tractor as a passenger or helper;
- working inside: a fruit, forage, or grain storage designed to retain an oxygen-deficient or toxic atmosphere; an upright silo within 2 weeks after silage has been added or when a top unloading device is in operating position; a manure pit; or a horizontal silo while operating a tractor for packing purposes;
- handling or applying toxic agricultural chemical identified by the words “danger,” “poison,” or “warning or a skull and crossbones on the label;
- handling or using explosives; and
- transporting, transferring, or applying anhydrous ammonia.
Federal law provides a few exemptions from these work restrictions, as follows:
- 14 and 15-year old student learners enrolled in vocational agricultural programs are exempt from certain hazardous occupations when certain requirements are met;
- minors aged 14 and 15 who hold certificates of completion of training under a 4-H or vocational agriculture training program may work outside school hours on certain equipment for which they have been trained.
New York State Law
New York’s youth farm employment regulations are summarized in the NYS Department of Labor publication: A Farmer’s Guide to the New York State Department of Labor. There are both age- and task-based limitations in New York. As in federal law, these restrictions do not apply to youth working on farms owned or operated by their parents.
New York Youth Age Limits
| Age | Limits |
| 16 and 17 | No limit on hours worked but cannot work during school hours. A work permit is not required. |
| 14 and 15 | No limit on hours worked but cannot work during school hours. A work permit is not required. A school-issued farm work permit, signed by the employer, is required. |
| 12 and 13 | Youth in this group can only be employed for:
|
| Under 12 years of age | Not allowed to work on farms |
New York Youth Task Restrictions (that commonly apply to agriculture)
New York regulations provide an extensive list of tasks that are off limits for anyone under age 18. The full list can be found in the Farmer’s Guide, I’ve included a shorted list of likely farm tasks below:
- Construction work, including wrecking, demolition, roofing, or excavating operations and the painting or exterior cleaning of a building structure from an elevated surface
- The operation of circular saws, band saws and guillotine shears
- In or about a slaughtering and meat-packing establishment or rendering plant
- The operation of power-driven woodworking, metalforming, metal- punching, metal-shearing, bakery or paper products machines
- The operation of power-driven hoisting apparatus
- Logging occupations and occupations in the operation of any sawmill, lath mill, shingle mill or cooperage-stock mill
- As a helper on a motor vehicle
- In manufacturing, packing, or storing of explosives or in the use or delivery of explosives
- Adjusting belts to machinery or cleaning, oiling, or wiping machinery
Again, there are a few exceptions that could allow a worker under 18 to perform some hazardous tasks:
- Workers younger than 18 who are apprentices individually registered in Department of Labor registered apprenticeship programs
- Student-learners enrolled in recognized cooperative vocational training programs • Trainees in approved on-the-job training programs
- Workers 16 or 17 years old who have completed training as a student learner or trainee in an approved on-the-job training program
- Workers 16 or 17 years old who have completed a training program given by a public school or a nonprofit institution that includes Department of Labor approved safety instruction
______________________________________________________________________
By Richard Stup, Cornell University. Permission granted to repost, quote, and reprint with author attribution.
The post Youth Employment in Agriculture appeared in The Ag Workforce Journal.
