• Child labor laws restrict the occupations and hours of a child at work while attending school.child making rope with machine image by pixelcarpenter from Fotolia.com
  
  Child labor laws have been enacted around the country to ensure minors receive fair working conditions and do not take needed attention away from their education. These laws reach across the board to all types of employment. Each state, like Pennsylvania, has its own laws concerning how many hours a week and under what conditions minors may work and at what age they may begin working. Some positions, such as using machinery like dishwashers or knives of any kind, are restricted from minors as it is believed that operating such equipment puts them under undue risk.
  
  

Jobs Minors May Not Work in Restaurants

• The minimum age for employment in the state of Pennsylvania is 14. Minors age 14 and 15 may not hold positions where using bladed objects like knives is the main job function. Minors under 16 may also not leave their feet (climb ladders) in order to perform job functions, and are not allowed work on a grill (as cooks) where guests cannot see them. These laws are to ensure that no unnecessary harm comes to the minor, and that the work the minor is employed in is not too labor intensive.
  
  Minors may not serve or handle alcohol under any circumstances in the state of Pennsylvania. This includes going behind a bar area to retrieve empty bottles or trays of dishes, as it could be assumed by a guest that the minor may have handled or served alcohol.
  
  

Employment Certification

• Each person under the age of 18 must obtain an employment certificate, often referred to as "working papers." These certificates are processed through the student's high school unless the student has graduated or has been officially removed from school. In that case, a work certificate is not needed. Working papers are transferable between employers that the minor may be working for, and provide tangible information that the employer is aware of child labor laws and of the obligation to comply with them while the minor is under employment.
  
  

Hours Available for Work

• Hours that minors may work differ based on age and time of year. Workers age 14 and 15 may not work more than four hours per day, and may not begin work before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. during the school year. During the summer months, this time increases to allow for eight hours of work per day, with no work occurring after 10 p.m. All minors are required to take (at minimum) a 30-minute meal break on or before the fifth uninterrupted hour of work.
  
  Minors age 16 and 17 may not work after midnight (1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays) or before 6 a.m. during the school year. Eight hours may be spent working each day, though these minors may not exceed 18 hours of total work per school week. No starting and stopping time restrictions are in place for summer vacation. However, minors age 16 and 17 still may not work more than eight hours a day, though the total work week allotment increases to 44 hours.