The Fair Labor Standards Act prohibits employers from employing any child under 18 years of age in occupations involved in the operation of power-driven bakery machines because they are considered to be particularly hazardous or detrimental to youth health or welfare. 29 CFR 270.62(a) Occupations involved in the operation of power-driven bakery machines include:
- operating, assisting to operate horizontal or vertical dough mixers, batter mixers, bread dividing, rounding, or molding machies, dough brakes, dough sheeters, combination bread slicing and wrapping machines, or cake cutting band saws
- setting up, repairing, oiling, or cleaning any of the machines listed above
- setting up or adjusting cookie or cracker machines
Exceptions
The youth restrictions for 16 and 17 year olds on occupations involved in power-drive bakery machines do not include:
- operating, setting up, repairing, oiling, and cleaning lightweight, small capacity, portable counter-top power-driven food mixers that are, or are comparable to, models intended for household use (this exception does not apply when the mixer is used, with or without attachments, to process meat or poultry products)
- operating, but not setting up, adjusting, repairing, oiling, or cleaning, pizza-dough rollers that:
- have safeguards in the basic design that prevent fingers, hands, and clothing from being caught in the in-running point of the rollers and the safeguards are operational and have not been overridden
- have gears that are completely enclosed
- have microswitches that disengage the machinery if the backs or sides of the rollers are removed.
Lightweight, small capacity mixer
A lightweight, small capacity mixer is a mixer that:
- is not hardwired to a power source
- is equipped with a motor that is no more than 1/2 horse power
- is equipped with a bowl with a capacity of no more than 5 quarts
Age certification
Employers who employ minors are not in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s child labor laws if they keep on file unexpired certificates of age for each minor employed which shows the minor is the appropriate age for the work being performed, even if the child turns out not to be the appropriate age. 29 US Code 203(l)(2); 29 CFR 570.5(a); 29 CFR 570.38; 29 CFR 570.121 For more information, visit our page on Age Certificates.