HOUSE BILL REPORT

                  HB 2224

                      As Passed House:

                      January 26, 1996

Title:  An act relating to the employment of minors.

Brief Description:  Regulating teen‑age work hours.

Sponsors:  Representatives Mastin, Schoesler, Chandler, Honeyford, Sheahan, Carlson, Thompson, McMorris, Backlund, McMahan and Stevens.

Brief History:

  Committee Activity:

Commerce & Labor:  1/10/96,  1/11/96, 1/15/96 [DPS].

  Floor Activity:

Passed House:  1/26/96, 61-35.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE & LABOR

Majority Report:  The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  Signed by 8 members:  Representatives McMorris, Chairman; Hargrove, Vice Chairman; Thompson, Vice Chairman; Cairnes; Fuhrman; Goldsmith; Horn and Lisk.

Minority Report:  Do not pass.  Signed by 4 members:  Representatives Romero, Ranking Minority Member; Conway, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Cody and Cole.

Staff:  Chris Cordes (786-7117).

Background:  The Department of Labor and Industries is authorized by statute to adopt rules establishing employment standards, including working conditions and hours of labor, for the protection of the safety, health, and welfare of employees.  In addition, the department may adopt special rules for the protection of minor employees.  The provisions granting this authority do not apply to agricultural labor, newspaper vending, or domestic or casual labor at private residences.  Employment of minors in house-to-house sales is restricted by statute.

Until July 1, 1993, the department's rules regulating the employment of minors included the following restrictions:

Minors 16 or 17 years of age:  A maximum of eight hours per day and five days per week; and no work after 9:00 p.m. on two consecutive nights preceding school days.

Minors under age 16:  A maximum of three hours per day on school days and 18 hours per week during school weeks; a maximum of eight hours per day on nonschool days and five days per week; and no work before 7:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m., except during summer vacation when work must end by 9:00 p.m.

On July 1, 1993, revised rules providing for the employment of minors became effective.  These rules include the following:

Minors 16 or 17 years of age:  A maximum of four hours per day on a school day preceding a school day, eight hours per day on other days, 20 hours during a school week and six days per week. With a variance, these limits may be extended to a maximum of six hours per day on a school day preceding a school day and 28 hours per week.  No work is permitted before 7:00 a.m. or after 10:00 p.m. on a day preceding a school day, or after midnight on Friday, Saturday, or the day before a holiday.

During school vacations, a maximum of eight hours per day and 48 hours per week is permitted, for up to six days per week.  Work may not start before 5:00 a.m. or end after midnight.

Minors under age 16:  A maximum of three hours per day on a school day preceding a school day, eight hours per day on other days, 16 hours during a school week, and six days per week.  During school vacations, a maximum of eight hours per day and 40 hours per week is permitted, up to six days per week. 

No work is permitted before 7:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m. on a day preceding a school day.  On Friday, Saturday, or a day preceding a school holiday, and during school vacations, work must end by 9:00 p.m.

The revised rules also changed the regulation of employment of minors in hazardous occupations.

The U.S. Department of Labor has established child labor standards under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.  These standards restrict the employment of minors in certain hazardous occupations.  In addition, the federal standards limit the nonagricultural employment of minors under age 16 to three hours on school days, eight hours on nonschool days, 18 hours per week during school weeks, and 40 hours per week during school vacations.

Summary of Substitute Bill:

Authority of the Department of Labor and Industries to adopt special rules.  Provisions are deleted that give the Department of Labor and Industries authority to adopt special rules for the protection of the safety, health, and welfare of minors employed in nonagricultural and other covered employments.  However, the department is authorized to adopt rules determining the unreasonably hazardous occupations in which minors may not be employed (see hazardous occupations below).

Work rules for minors under age 16.  The employment of unemancipated minors under the age of 16 is restricted as follows:

!During the school week, work may not exceed three hours per day on school days, eight hours per day on nonschool days, 18 hours per week, or six days per week.

!During a nonschool week, work may not exceed eight hours per day or 40 hours per week.

!During the school year, work is prohibited before 7:00 a.m. and after 7:00 p.m.

!During summer vacation, work is prohibited before 7:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m.  If working after 8:00 p.m in service occupations, the minor must be supervised by an adult on the premises.

Work rules for minors age 16 and 17.  For unemancipated minors age 16 or 17, the hours of employment are restricted as follows:

!During a school week, hours of work may not exceed 10 hours per day or 24 hours per week.  The minor's school may grant a variance permitting up to 32 hours per week.  No more than six days per week may be worked.

!During a nonschool week, hours of work may not exceed 10 hours per day or 48 hours per week.

Provisions that apply to all minor employment

Minors may not be employed more than five hours without a meal period of at least thirty minutes. Rest periods of at least 10 minutes are required in every continuous four-hour work period.

Work is prohibited during school hours unless special permission has been granted by school officials.

The department may grant a variance to any of the hours of work standards for minors if good cause is shown for lack of compliance.

Hazardous occupations.  All covered minors are prohibited from employment in occupations determined by the Department of Labor and Industries, by rule, to be unreasonably hazardous.  In adopting rules, the department may not restrict employment beyond the restrictions established in federal law as of January 1, 1994, except the following employments are prohibited:

!Occupations where there is a risk of exposure to bodily fluids or transmission of infectious agents, unless minor is in health care training or is a state-certified life guard with first aid training.

!Occupations involving potential exposure to hazardous substances considered to be carcinogenic, corrosive, highly toxic, or determined to cause reproductive health effects or irreversible end organ damage, unless exposure is not greater than exposure during normal consumer use of the product. 

!Employment in sauna or massage parlors, body painting or tatoo studios, or adult entertainment establishments.

Other provisions.  One of two provisions requiring employers to obtain minor work permits is repealed.  A requirement in the repealed section for employers to keep work permits on file during the employment of minors is retained in another section. 

"School week" is defined as a week in which there are more than two scheduled school days.  Definitions are also provided for "school day" and "school year."

Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill:  The substitute bill adds a provision authorizing the Department of Labor and Industries to grant variances to the hours of work requirements for minors.  The provision requiring a rest break in every four hours of employment is amended to require the rest break when the four hours of employment has been continuous.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not requested.

Effective Date of Substitute Bill:  The bill contains an emergency clause and takes effect immediately.

Testimony For: Teen work rules need to balance work and school and need to allow flexibility so that parents and teens have a greater role in determining what is best in each case.  This bill maintains a role for the state, but provides the needed flexibility.  The current law discourages the hiring of teen workers, and this results in teens losing opportunities for valuable work experience.  The jobs that are available are low end jobs that will not give teens real opportunities in the workplace.  The current rules are complex and add paperwork burdens.  The employer can be subject to criminal penalties in the case of a serious injury even though there was no intent to injure the teen worker.  Teens can avoid the limits on the number of hours by taking multiple jobs because no one monitors cases of multiple employers.  Employers who follow the rules find it difficult to manage work shifts because the short four-hour shift permitted for teens does not fit with the realities of the workplace.  Also, the mandatory quit time is too early for many businesses.  The rules do not accommodate those teens who contribute support to their families.  Many teens who cannot find jobs will end up "in the streets" and school performance will not improve.  There is a double standard when teens are permitted to participate in sports until late but are not permitted to work those late hours.  A balanced approach to the rules that educators proposed was rejected in the adoption of rules.  The variance process in the current rules is difficult and many schools will not provide variances.

Testimony Against:  Families do not have enough time together, and when teens work long hours during the school year, this problem becomes worse.  The decisions about working hours are not always the choice of families when the employer puts pressure on the teen worker to stay late because of problems at work.  It takes away from teens' educational opportunities when the focus is on their work.  Everyone agrees that work is a valuable experience for teens.  The issue is determining the priority for society when wages for workers are generally falling behind, especially for those without education or training.  The current rules are a reflection of the studies showing that work of more than 20 hours per week has a negative impact on education.  The current rules are flexible and have been shown to have little impact on job opportunities.  Permitting students to work 10 hours on a school day cannot help but affect their school performance. There are examples of teens who worked within the rules' limits and still earned the income needed to assist the family or provide for college.  The policy focus should be on school-to-work transition and getting parents, business, and labor involved in these critical issues.

Testified:   (In support)  Representative Dave Mastin, prime sponsor; John Senner; Amanda Fields; Karen Yepez; Clif Finch, Association of Washington Business; Dedi Hitchens, National Federation of Independent Business; Gary Smith, Independent Business Association; Jeff Cox, Washington Retail Association; Sheri Nixon; Mike Kennedy; and Michelle Gillis. (Opposed)  Dan Comsia and Kathleen Russell, Washington Association of Churches; Robby Stern and Jeff Johnson, Washington State Labor Council; Linda Holmes; George LeClair, Children's Alliance; Tom Lopp, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction; and Walter Ball, Association of Washington School Principals.  (Information only) Frank Leuck, Greg Mowatt, and Stephanie Findley, Department of Labor and Industries.