Virginia's child labor laws

Laws ~ Hours ~ Job Types

From the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry and the Department of Labor

NOTE:  The state has made a change in the Child Labor Laws.  Students must now be 16 years old to work with animals.

Do you plan to work part-time, after school, or during the summer? Then you need to be aware of the following guidelines regarding employment of minors, that is, anyone under the age of 18.

Minimum age for a work permit:

Generally, 14 years of age.

The primary requirements for working minors:

• Must be 14 to work in most jobs
• Minors who are 14 and 15
  • Must have a work permit
  • Have limited hours they can work, and
  • Cannot work in certain jobs

• Minors who are 16 and 17 do not have to obtain a work permit and do not have limited hours, but are barred from working in certain particularly hazardous jobs.

Work permits are required before beginning work:

For minors under age 16.

Obtaining a work permit:

See your school counselor

There are two forms –

1. Intention to Employ, which is completed by your employer and must clearly state the work you will be doing.
2. Permission for Employment, which is completed by your parent. It is a good idea for the parent and child to complete and sign the form in the school counseling office.   You may be asked to provide proof of age. Acceptable proof includes a birth certificate, or a Bible or baptismal record, or an insurance policy at least 12 months old, or a school record.

The work permit has three copies:

• Take the first part to you employer, who will keep it at your work location.

• The second copy is kept at the school.

• The third copy is sent to the Department of Labor and Industry, along with the Intention to Employ and the Parent’s Permission Form.

Note: If you change jobs, you will need a new work permit.

Permits can be revoked or refused:

If you received it by mistake or by misrepresenting any facts or evidence.

Hours teens may work in Virginia

Twelve and thirteen years of age

• Newspaper carriers may not work during school hours, before 4:00 a.m., or after 7:00p.m.
• Work on a farm, garden or orchard is allowed outside of school hours with a parent’s express written permission.

Fourteen and fifteen years of age

• Are limited to three (3) hours of work on a school day.
• Are limited to eighteen (18) hours of work in a school week.
• Are limited to eight (8) hours of work on non-school days.
• Are not allowed to work before 7:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m. except between June 1^st and Labor Day, when you may work until 9:00 p.m.
• Are not allowed to work during school hours unless you are participating in a work-training program offered by the school.
• Are required to take a half-hour rest break or meal break after working five consecutive hours.

Note: The above restrictions do not apply to teens working on farms, in gardens or orchards, but you are not allowed to work during school hours, and you must be allowed the meal break.

Sixteen and seventeen years of age

• No restrictions on work hours.

All teenagers, regardless of age, may work unrestricted hours in the following:

• A parent-owned non-agricultural job.
• Clerk or page in either the Virginia House of Delegates or the Virginia Senate.
• House and /or yard work for your parent.
• A parent-owned/operated orchard, farm or garden
• Acting jobs, with a valid theatrical permit obtained by the theatrical production management from the Department of Labor and Industry.
• Work done for the state or local government.
• Work done for a volunteer rescue squad.

Note: Work permits are not required for these activities, or for volunteer work.

Jobs that can be held by teenagers in the State of Virginia

Age 12 and older

• Newspaper delivery
• Farm, garden or orchard work

Age 14 and older

• Restaurants
• Office work
• Gasoline service establishments
• Skating rinks
• Concessions and gatekeepers at swimming pools
• Helper on commercial vehicles or trucks with no more than two axles
• Grass cutting
• Kitchen work, tray service, and hall cleaning in hospitals and nursing homes
• Advertising agencies
• Retail stores
• Radio and TV stations
• Bowling alleys equipped with automatic pin setters
• Hotel and motel food service departments
• Branch stores or laundries and dry cleaning establishments where no processing is performed on the premises.
• Greenhouses and real estate
• Caddies

Age 16 and older

• Manufacturing
• Laundries and dry cleaners
• Printing and publishing firms
• School bus drivers
• Scaffolding work
• Canneries
• Hotels and motels
• Feed mills
• Theaters
• Ice plants
• Warehouses
• Garages and auto repair shops
• Radio and TV repair
• Wholesale houses
• Undertaking establishments and funeral homes
• Construction trades
• Hospitals and nursing homes
• Processing
• Fire fighting except entering “burning structures
• Fairs and carnivals
• Service of veterinarian when treating farm animals or horses
• Veterinary establishments

Note: In many of these occupations you may not operate machinery which has been declared hazardous in regulations of the Department of Labor and Industry. Contact the Department for additional information.

For more information call the central Department of Labor and Industry office in Richmond, Virginia at 804-786-2386.