Stephen Clegg

Bureau Chief

Bureau of Wage and Hour Administration

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Minor Labor Laws

Overview of your division, how it plays a role in Commerce as a whole, etc.

The Ohio Department of Commerce is focused on equipping businesses and protecting consumers.

Commerce has seven divisions, including the Division of Real Estate & Professional Licensing.

Our goal is to keep Ohioan’s safe, sound and secure.

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Employing Minors

• Records Keeping Requirements
• Exempted Minors
• Hour Restrictions
• Prohibited Occupations
• Manufacturing Mentorship Program

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Employer Minor Record Keeping Requirements

• In Addition to Records for All Employees an Employer Must keep the following records pertaining to Minors:
• Work Permit
• Obtained through the Local School District
• Wage Agreement
• Listing the Wages to be Paid to the Minor

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Employer Minor Record Keeping Requirements (cont.)

• Record of Breaks
• Showing the Starting and Stopping Time
• List of Minor Employed in a conspicuous place
• Minor Labor Law Poster

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Minors Exempt from Minor Labor Law

• Students participating in a vocational program approved by ODE
• Students working in training department of any school
• Minors participating in a play, pageant, or concert

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Minors Exempt from Minor Labor Law (cont.)

• Participation without remuneration of a minor and with the consent of the parent or guardian in a performance given by a church, school or academy
• Minors employed by their parents in occupations other than those prohibited

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Minors Exempt from Minor Labor Law (cont.)

• Minors engaged in the delivery of newspapers to consumers
• Minors who have received a high school diploma
• Minors who are currently heads of households or parents contributing to the support of their children

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Minors Exempt from Minor Labor Law (cont.)

• Minor engaged in lawn mowing and snow shoveling
• Minors in agriculture employment in connection with family farms
• Students participating in a program to serve as precinct officers

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Hour Restrictions

• 16 & 17 yr. old: May not work past 11:00 p.m. on any night followed by a school day
• 14 & 15 yr. old: May not work past 7:00 p.m. when school is in session and 9:00 p.m. when school is not in session
• 14 & 15 yr. old: May not work more than 3 hours per day and 18 hours/week when school is in session
• 14 & 15 yr. old: May not work more than 8 hours per day and 40 hours/week when school is not in session

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Prohibited Occupation for ALL Minors

• Driving a Motor Vehicle (some exceptions may apply)
• Meat Slicers
• Power-driven bakery machines
• Roofing
• Excavation
• Work in connection with Chemicals
• Power paper machines

Prohibited Occupation for 14 & 15 Year Old Minors

• Power-driven machines
• Construction
• Cooking and Baking (except for lunch counters, snack bars, cafeteria serving counters)
• Gasoline Service in connection with pits, rack or lifting apparatus

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Prohibited Occupation for 14 & 15 Year Old Minors (cont.)

• Warehouse work
• Work in freezers and meat coolers
• Any manufacturing occupation

Manufacturing Mentorship Program (MMP)

• Passed by the Ohio Legislature in 2019 to expose minors who are sixteen or seventeen years of age to manufacturing occupations in this state through temporary employment with an employer.
• Requirements/Guidelines found in ORC 4109.22 and OAC 4101:9-2-02.2

Requirements of the Manufacturer for MMP Participation

• Determine the duration of the minor's employment;
• Assign the minor a mentor to provide direct and close supervision while the minor is engaged in any workplace activity;
• Provide the minor with specific training, including:
• A ten-hour course in general industry safety and health hazard recognition and prevention approved by the occupational safety and health administration of the United States department of labor;
• Instructions on how to operate the specific tools the minor will use during the minor's employment;
• The general safety and health hazards to which the minor may be exposed at the minor's workplace;
• The value of safety and management commitment;
• Information on the employer's drug testing policy.

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Additional Manufacturer Requirements for MMP

• Encourage the minor to participate in a career-technical education program approved by the department of education if the minor is not participating in a career-technical education program when the minor begins employment;
• Comply with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations relating to the employment of minors (work permits, wage agreements, hour restrictions and the payment of the required minimum wage).

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Additional Manufacturer Requirements for MMP

• A minor who is sixteen or seventeen years of age who is employed by an employer under the mentorship program may work in any manufacturing occupation not denied by law to minors of that age under section 4109.05 of the Revised Code or rules adopted under that section.
• No employer shall do either of the following:
• Permit a minor who is sixteen or seventeen years of age to operate a tool minors of that age are permitted to operate pursuant to the rules adopted under division (D) of this section unless the minor is employed by the employer under the mentorship program;
• Permit a minor who is sixteen or seventeen years of age who is employed by the employer under the mentorship program to operate a tool prohibited for use by minors of that age pursuant to the "Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938," 29 U.S.C. 201, et seq., and section 4109.05 of the Revised Code or rules adopted under that section.

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Record Keeping Requirements for MMP Participation

• Employers shall maintain records sufficient to document the satisfaction of all criteria established by section 4109.22 of the O.R.C.
• Documents shall be maintained by the employer for no less than two years following the employment of the minor or after the minor turns 18, whichever is later.
• Employers shall make the documents available to the director of commerce or the Director’s designee upon request.

Permitted Tools for Minors Participating in MMP

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• The following general tools may be used by any minors sixteen or seventeen years of age only if they are participants in the manufacturing mentorship program
• Pipe and bolt threading machine;
• Pipe nipple and automatic pipe nipple machines;
• Certain electric carts used as a means of transportation in large industrial plants and at railroad stations, as long as they are not driven on public roads;
• Riding mowers or golf carts in a warehouse setting, as long as they are not driven on public roads;
• Powered contour measuring instruments;
• Multi-axis type robotic equipment;

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Permitted Tools for Minors Participating in MMP

• The following conditional use tools may be used by any minors sixteen or seventeen years of age only if they are participants in the manufacturing mentorship program:
• Welding tools only while under direct supervision;
• Waterjet cutting machines with devices for fully automatic feeding and ejection and with a fixed guard that prevents operators or helpers from placing any part of their bodies in the point-of-operation area;
• Computer numerical control (CNC) machines while under direct supervision;
• Production press machines that are not already listed as a specific prohibition or exception in Chapter 4101:9-2 of the Administrative Code, so long as those devices include fully automatic feeding and ejection and a fixed guard that prevents operators or helpers from placing any part of their bodies in the point-of-operation area;
• Plastics molding machines when fitted with the proper guarding and are not manually fed;
• Plastics extruders while under direct supervision;
• Soldering irons while under direct supervision;

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Permitted Tools for Minors Participating in MMP

• The following restricted use tools may be used by any minors sixteen or seventeen years of age only if they are participants in the manufacturing mentorship program
• Certain tools that require the placing of material on a moving chain or in a hopper or slide for automatic feeding, such as:
• Band resaw only when it incorporates the use of a chain feed and there is no direct interaction with the tool;
• Automatic nailing machine only when it incorporates the use of a hopper, belt, or chain feed, and there is no direct interaction with the tool;
• Automatic wire-stitching machines only when it incorporates the use of a hopper or chain feed and there is no direct interaction with the tool;
• Tools designed for carrying or moving nonhazardous material from one machine to another (hike-a-way).
• Miscellaneous tools that are permitted under the Fair Labor Standards Act and are not specifically prohibited by section 4109.05 of the Revised Code or the rules adopted thereunder.

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Thank You

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Contact Information

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Stephen Clegg

Bureau Chief, Bureau of Wage & Hour Administration

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Ohio Department of Commerce

Bureau of Wage and Hour

P.O. Box 4009

6606 Tussing Road

Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068-9009

614-644-2239

Stephen.clegg@com.ohio.gov

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