BILL REQ. #:  H-4264.1 

Prefiled 01/09/08. Read first time 01/14/08.   Referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

     AN ACT Relating to hours of work for minors in nonagricultural employment; and amending RCW 49.12.121.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 49.12.121 and 1993 c 294 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a) The department may at any time inquire into wages, hours, and conditions of labor of minors employed in any trade, business, or occupation in the state of Washington and may adopt special rules for the protection of the safety, health, and welfare of minor employees. However, the rules may not limit the hours per day or per week, or other specified work period, that may be worked by minors who are emancipated by court order.
     (b) During the school year, minors sixteen and seventeen years old may work a maximum of twenty-eight hours per week.
     (2) The department shall issue work permits to employers for the employment of minors, after being assured the proposed employment of a minor meets the standards for the health, safety, and welfare of minors as set forth in the rules adopted by the department. No minor person shall be employed in any occupation, trade, or industry subject to chapter 16, Laws of 1973 2nd ex. sess., unless a work permit has been properly issued, with the consent of the parent, guardian, or other person having legal custody of the minor and with the approval of the school which such minor may then be attending. However, the consent of a parent, guardian, or other person, or the approval of the school which the minor may then be attending, is unnecessary if the minor is emancipated by court order.
     (3) The minimum wage for minors shall be as prescribed in RCW 49.46.020.