• Learn about child labor in Pennsylvania.Labor of love image by Siew Yee Lee from Fotolia.com
  
  Child labor refers to the practice of employing minors under the age of 18. Child labor laws are intended to protect the health and safety of minors and to shield them from exploitation. Pennsylvania laws restrict the hours children can work and where they can work based on their age.
  
  

Age Restrictions

• The minimum age for employment in Pennsylvania is 14 with some exceptions. Children of any age may be employed in the motion picture business but must be at least 7 years of age to work in television, modeling or theatrical productions. Children age 11 and older may deliver newspapers, while children age 12 and older may be employed as a golf caddy. There are no restrictions for children working on a farm or completing domestic work.
  
  

Employment Certificate

• All minors under the age of 18 must obtain a work permit, also called an employment certificate, before they can begin working for an employer unless they are working in the agricultural industry. In Pennsylvania there are three types of employment certificates: general employment certificates, which apply to all minors not enrolled in school; vacation employment certificates, which apply to minors enrolled in school; and transferable employment certificates, which apply to 16- and 17-year-olds only. Minors under the age of 18 who have already completed high school are not required to have an employment certificate.
  
  

Hour Restriction

• Children ages 14 and 15 are only permitted to work up to four hours per day during the school year and cannot be worked before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. In the summer months, however, children ages 14 and 15 can work up to eight hours per day and as late as 10 p.m. Children ages 16 and 17 can work up to eight hours per day during the school year and up to 28 hours per week, but cannot be worked before 6 a.m. or after midnight. In the summer months, however, children ages 16 and 17 can work up to eight hours a day and 44 hours a week with no hour restrictions.
  
  

Required Breaks

• All minors must be given a minimum 30-minute break for every five consecutive hours worked.
  
  

Prohibited Occupations

• Pennsylvania law prohibits minors from excavating, roofing, welding, operating elevators, performing electrical work, working with machinery such as woodworking, bakery mixing and punch pressing, operating cranes, working in billiard rooms or assisting with demolition. Minors also cannot be employed near open roads, in manufacturing plants or anywhere alcohol is sold.