Alaska child labor laws regulate the employment of youth in the state of Alaska. These laws dictate the ages and times as well as the types of work they may perform.
Generally, speaking children 13 years old and younger may not work in Alaska, except in some limited situations.
Youth who are 14 and 15 years old may work in a broader range of jobs but are significantly limited in the number of hours per day and week they may work, especially when school is in session.
Youth who are 16 and 17 years old may work in a broad range of jobs but cannot work in jobs that have been explicitly deemed to be too hazardous. A work permit is required for minors who are 14, 15, or 16 years old. The details of Alaska child labor laws are discussed below.
Minor defined
Unless otherwise stated, for purposes of Alaska child labor laws, a minor or child is an individual who is under the age of 18 who has not been emancipated by a court. Alaska Admin. Code 8 AAC 05.900(b)
Exempt employees
Alaska child labor laws do not apply to children who work under the direct supervision of a parent in a business owned and operated by the parent or who work on a boat that is owned and operated by a parent. Alaska Statues 23.10.330(a)
Additionally, children of any age may be employed as performers in the entertainment industry. A youth performer in the entertainment industry is defined as a performer in advertisements and television, film, radio, and theater productions not including any work on the premises of a business offering adult entertainment. Alaska Statues 23.10.330(b)
Apprentices
Alaska child labor laws exempt apprentices from their requirements when:
- the apprentices are employed in crafts recognized as an apprenticeable trade;
- the work performed by apprentices in the occupations declared particularly hazardous is incidental to their training;
- any particularly hazardous work performed by apprentices is intermittent and for short periods of time
- any particularly hazardous work is performed under the direct and close supervision of journeymen as a necessary part of the apprentices training; and
- the apprentices are:
- registered by the bureau of apprenticeship and training of the United States Department of Labor
- registered by a state agency as employed in accordance with the standards of state apprenticeship and training approved by the commissioner of labor and workforce development, or
- is employed under a written apprenticeship agreement and conditions that are found by the commissioner of labor and workforce development to conform substantially with those federal or state standards.
Alaska Admin. Code 8 AAC 05.040(b)
Student-learners
Alaska child labor laws exempt student-learners from their requirements when:
- the student-learner is enrolled in a course of study and training in a cooperative vocational training program under a recognized state or local educational authority or in a course of study in a substantially similar program conducted by a private school; and
- the student-learner is employed under a written agreement which provides that
- the work performed by the student-learner in the occupations declared particularly hazardous will be incidental to the training;
- the particularly hazardous work will be intermittent and for short periods of time;
- the particularly hazardous work will be performed under the direct and close supervision of a qualified and experienced person;
- the school with provide safety instructions and the employer will correlate the safety instruction with on-the-job training; and
- the parties involved will prepare a schedule of organized and progressive work processes to be performed by the student-learner on the job; and
- each written agreement contains the name of the student-learner and is signed by the employer and the school coordinator or principal.
Alaska Admin. Code 8 AAC 05.040(c)
The school and the employer must each keep copies of student-learner agreements on file. Also, the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development may revoke the exemption from child labor laws for student-learners if it determines the school and/or employer have not taken reasonable precautions to protect the safety of the student-learner. Alaska Admin. Code 8 AAC 05.040(d)
Once student-learners have completed their training, employers may employ them in the occupation they were trained for even if they have not turned 18 years old and would otherwise be prohibited from performing the work. Alaska Admin. Code 8 AAC 05.040(d)
Certificates of age
Alaska child labor laws require employers to obtain and keep on file proofs of age for all minors that work for them. Examples of acceptable proofs of age include, but are not limited to:
- birth certificate
- Bureau of Indian Affairs census record
- passport
- driver’s license
- authenticated school record
- federal age certificate
- baptismal certificate
- military dependent identification
- family court records
- affidavit from a physician
Alaska Admin. Code 8 AAC 05.280
13-year-olds and younger
Alaska youth age 13 and younger may only work in a limited number of occupations. These include:
- newspaper sale and delivery
- canneries in warhouse work casing cans under competent supervision
- babysitting, handiwork, and domestic employment in or about private homes
- performers in the entertainment industry
Alaska Statute 23.10.330(b), Alaska Statute 23.10.335
14 and 15-year-olds
Alaska child labor laws have provisions specifically directed to 14 and 15-year-olds, including what times during a day 14 and 15-year-olds may work, how many hours in a week they may work, and what jobs or occupations they may perform. For more information, visit our Alaska Child Labor Laws 14 and 15-year-olds page.
16 and 17-year-olds
Alaska child labor laws have provisions specifically directed to 16 and 17-year-olds, including restrictions on what times during a day 16 and 17 year-olds may work, how many hours in a week they may work, and what jobs or occupations they may perform. For more information, visit our Alaska Child Labor Laws 16 and 17-year-olds page.
Work Permits
Alaska child labor laws prohibit employers from employing minors who are 16 years old or younger unless they have work permits for the minors.
Employers are responsible for submitting applications to and receiving work permits for minors they wish to employ from the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. They may receive permits from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development in one of two ways: individual work permits and general duties work permits.
Alaska Statute 23.10.332(a), Alaska Admin. Code 8 AAC 05.045, Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development: Child Labor Work Permit
Individual work permits
Employers may submit individual work permits which are filled out and submitted for a specific minor. Alaska Admin. Code 8 AAC 05.045(a) Employers may receive individual work permits for a specific minor by:
- Filling out its portion of the work permit application
- having the minor’s parents or guardians fill out their portion the work permit application
- obtaining a copy of the minor’s proof of age which the employer must keep on file
- obtaining proof of legal guardianship if the application is signed by a person other than the minor’s parent
- submitting the application and proof of legal guardianship to the Wage and Hour Administration of the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development
When seeking a work permit for an individual minor in this manner, the minor cannot begin working for the employer until the employer has received the approved work permit back from the Wage and Hour Administration.
Alaska Statute 23.10.332(a), Alaska Admin. Code 8 AAC 05.045(a)
General duties work permits
Instead of obtaining individual work permits, employers may obtain general duties work permits. General duties work permits allow an employer to submit an application for a minor work permit without first identifying the specific minor to which the work permit will apply. Instead, an employer submits a work permit application to the Wage and Hour Administration identifying the specific duties of the open position and then receives approval to hire a minor to perform those duties.
Once the employer identifies the minor it wants to hire to perform the duties listed on the approved work permit, it must:
- have the minor’s parents or guardians fill out their portion of the application
- obtaining a copy of the minor’s proof of age which the employer must keep on file
- obtaining proof of legal guardianship if the application is signed by a person other than the minor’s parent
Once the employer has completed these steps, it may begin having the minor perform the approved duties. Within seven (7) days of the minor beginning work, the employer must submit the completed application to the Wage and Hour Administration of the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
A general duties work permit is only valid for the calendar year in which the employer executes it except when the employer executes it in December. When an employer executes a general duties work permit in December, it may be valid for the current calendar year, the next calendar year, or both, depending on the terms of the executed application.
Additionally, if an employer wants to change the job duties of a minor hired pursuant to a general duties work permit, it must obtain written authorization from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development before it has the minor perform the new job duties.
Alaska Statute 23.10.332(c), (d), Alaska Admin. Code 8 AAC 05.045(b), (c), Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development: Child Labor Work Permit
Parents
For purposes of Alaska child labor laws, parents include biological, adoptive, and step-parents. Alaska Admin. Code 8 AAC 05.900(a)(10)
Legal guardianship
Alaska child labor laws define a guardian as an individual who, by testamentary or court appointment, is legally responsible for the care and management of the person and the estate of a child while the child is under the age of 18. Alaska Admin. Code 8 AAC 05.900(a)(7) The following may be used as proof of legal guardianship when required to complete a work permit application:
- a general power of attorney appointing guardianship of the minor to an individual
- a power of attorney to an individual that specifically includes authorization regarding employment of the minor
- a marriage license and proof that the spouse of the minor is at least 18 years of age
- a state court award of guardianship of the minor to an individual
- court order making the minor a ward of the state
Alaska Admin. Code 8 AAC 05.045(d)
Exemptions
The work permit requirements do not apply to:
- the state, political subdivisions of the state, and employers who only employ minors enrolled in work-training apprenticeship, vocational education, and other programs approved by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development
- minors who have been emancipated for general purposes under AS 09.55.590
Alaska Admin. Code 8 AAC 05.040(e), (f)
Breaks
Except in the situations discussed below, employers are required to provide minors who are under 18 years old and who are scheduled to work shifts of six (6) or more consecutive hours a break of at least 30 minutes during the shifts. Employers must provide the eligible employees the breaks after the first one and a half (1½) hours worked but before the last hour or work. If minors work five (5) consecutive hours, the employer must provide them with 30-minute breaks before they may require them to continue working. Alaska Statute 23.10.350(c)
Employers are not required to provide the breaks described above to minors employed:
- in catching, trapping, cultivating or farming, netting, or taking of any kind of fish, shellfish, or other aquatic forms of animal and vegetable life
- by a member of their family which is limited to, whether of the whole or half blood, adoption, or marriage, spouses, parents, stepparents, grandparents, step-grandparents, great-grandparents, step-great-grandparents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, great-uncles, and great-aunts
Entertainment industry
Alaska child labor laws have special provisions regarding minors working in the entertainment industry. These special provisions are discussed on our Alaska Child Labor Laws – Entertainment Industry page.
Adult entertainment industry
Employers in the adult entertainment industry may not employ minors under the age of 18 on their premises. Alaska child labor laws define a business that offers adult entertainment as a business where one or more individuals are employed, contracted or permitted in whole or part to entertain others by:
- removing clothes or other items that clothe or hide the person’s body;
- dancing or in any other manner exhibiting the individual’s body in a completely or almost completely unclothed state;
- participating in an actual or simulated illegal, indecent, or lewd exhibition, act, or practice that includes:
- sexual penetration
- lewd exhibition or
- touching of a person’s genitals, anus, or breast
- bestiality
Alcohol
Alaska child labor laws prohibit employers from allowing individuals who are under the age of 21 to sell or serve alcoholic beverages. Alaska Statute 23.10.355
Employers of licensed premises may allow individuals under the age of 21 to work on their premises under the following conditions:
- 16 and 17-year-olds may enter and remain within the licensed premises of a hotel, golf course, or restaurant or eating place in the course of their employment if
- their employment does not involve the serving, mixing, delivering, or dispensing of alcoholic beverages;
- the minors have the written consent of their parents or guardians; and
- the Department of Labor and Workforce Development has granted the employer an exemption from the general prohibition of 16 and 17-year-olds working on licensed premises.
- 18, 19, and 20 years of age may be employed within the licensed premises of a hotel, golf course, or restaurant or eating place, may enter and remain within those premises for the purpose of their employment, but may not sell, serve, deliver, or dispense alcoholic beverages in the course of their employment
Alaska Statute 04.16.049(c), (d), Alaska Statute 23.10.355
Employers who sell or serve alcohol and would like to employ minors who are 16 and 17 years old must obtain work permits from the Wage and Hour Administration of the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Services before having them work. Alaska Statute 23.10.332(a), Alaska Admin. Code 8 AAC 05.045, Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development: Child Labor Work Permit
Under Alaska law, employees of licensed premises who are under the age of 21 are not considered to be in possession of alcohol if, while supervised by a person over the age of 21 who is also present on the licensed premises, handles empty or partially empty glassware and containers of alcoholic beverages while busing tables or washing dishes. However, any remaining alcohol in the glassware or container must be discarded as soon as possible by placing it in the wastewater, if available, or in a waste container. Alaska Admin. Code 3 AAC 304.745(b)
Pull tabs
Alaska law prohibits employers from allowing individuals who are under the age of 21 to sell, purchase or play pull-tabs. Alaska Admin. Code 15 AAC 160.480(b)
Marijuana and cannabis industry
Alaska law prohibits employers from allowing individuals who are under the age of 21 to work in any branch of the marijuana industry, including but not limited to planting, cultivating, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, or selling. Alaska Statute 17.38.070
Penalties
Anyone who violates Alaska’s child labor laws, except those related to the adult industry, is guilty of a misdemeanor that is punishable by a fine of not more than $500, by imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or by both. Alaska Statute 23.10.370(a)
Anyone who violates Alaska’s child labor laws related to the adult industry is guilty of a class A misdemeanor for the first offense and a Class C felony for the second and each subsequent offense. Alaska Statute 23.10.370(b)
There may be additional penalties for employers who unlawfully employ minors in relation to tobacco, alcohol, pull-tabs, marijuana, or cannabis.
