Employers take note—Child labor violations continue to be major DOL focus

Earlier this year the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) released statistics on its child labor enforcement activity for 2023. Astonishingly, WHD found an 88% increase since 2019 in the unlawful employment of minors. As we head into the summer months when many employers hire minors, companies should be mindful of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) restrictions on youth employment. Combating the unlawful employment of minors is one of WHD’s principal priorities, and there are several recent high-profile settlements with WHD across various industries that underscore that effort. All indications are that WHD will continue to be aggressive in its enforcement efforts.

Child labor divide

In general, the FLSA and its associated regulations divide child labor restrictions into two categories: agricultural and nonagricultural. For nonagricultural work, the DOL has issued 17 different hazardous occupation orders (HOs), which prohibit minors from holding certain positions or working with certain equipment out of concern that the work is too dangerous for minors. HO 3 bans minors from holding most positions in coal mining, and HO 5 prohibits minors from operating chain saws and similar power-driven woodworking equipment.