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New Jersey employers should be careful when hiring minors

On Behalf of | Nov 14, 2018 | Wage & Hour Laws |

Child labor laws are enforced by the State of New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. They restrict when and how much someone under the age of 18 is allowed to work, the types of the establishments that they may work for, the tasks they can carry out and the products or machines that they’re allowed to use.

Place of work

All New Jersey workers under the age of 18 are prohibited from working at condemned houses, scrap metal yards or junkyards, quarries or mines. They’re also not allowed to be employed in at any forging shops, foundries or a place where smelting or ore reduction occurs or where furnaces or hot rolling mills are operated.

They also can’t work at pool halls or at any locale where alcoholic beverages are manufactured, brewed, bottled or consumed.

Activities that can’t be performed

Minors are prohibited from carrying out certain work-related tasks under New Jersey child labor laws such as slaughtering, processing, rendering or packing meat. They also are not allowed to perform construction and demolition work including building or destroying ships.

They’re not allowed to operate heavy machinery, and they can’t wipe down, oil or clean it. They’re also not allowed within proximity of a steam boiler that puts out more than 15 pounds of pressure.

Children in New Jersey are not allowed to transport payroll documents, and they cannot work at any place that is considered to be indecent or immoral.

Products children can’t work around

New Jersey minors are not allowed to work among explosives, poisonous dyes or acids, some paints, flammable or corrosive materials, pesticides or anything carcinogenic. They’re also precluded from handling toxic vapors, fumes, dust or gases and hazardous or radioactive substances.

Machines minors cannot operate

Children in New Jersey are not allowed to operate machinery including calendar rolls, saws, compactors as well as farming, mixing, crimping, cutting, polishing, grinding, woodworking machines.

Every employer in New Jersey that employs a minor must provide their child employee with an employment certificate in order for them to work there. By doing so, it affirms that they’re aware of restrictions on the times and tasks the worker can perform. If an employer doesn’t issue this certificate, pays less than they should or circumvents regulations, then a Burlington wage and hours law attorney can advise you of your rights.