CHAPTER 173
FORMERLY
SENATE BILL NO. 107
AS AMENDED BY SENATE AMENDMENT NOS. 1 AND 2
AND HOUSE AMENDMENT NO. 1
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 5, TITLE 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CHILD LABOR.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1. Amend Chapter 5, Title 19 of the Delaware Code, by striking said chapter in its entirety and substituting in lieu thereof the following:
"Chapter 5. Child Labor
§501. Applicability of Chapter
This chapter shall apply to any place, establishment or occupation within this State where work is done for compensation of any kind, to whomever payable, except as otherwise specified in this chapter.
Nothing in this chapter shall prevent children of any age from receiving industrial education furnished by the United States, the State of Delaware or any city or town in the State, which is duly approved by a school board or committee or other duly constituted public authority.
Nothing in this chapter shall prevent children of any age from performing nonhazardous work as ordered by the Family Court as a condition of probation.
§502. Definitions
As used in this chapter, the following words have the meanings indicated:
(a) 'Minor' means a person under the age of 18 years;
(b) 'Employ', 'employed', or 'employment' means to suffer or permit to work but does not include:
(1) Farm work performed on a farm in a nonhazardous occupation;
(2) Domestic work performed in or about a private home;
(3) Work performed in a business owned by a parent or one legally standing in the place of a parent in a nonhazardous occupation;
(4) Work performed by nonpaid volunteers in a charitable or non profit organization with the written consent of a parent or one legally standing in the place of a parent;
(5) Caddying on a golf course;
(6) Delivery of newspapers to the consumer;
(1) Employment of a graduate of an accredited school who is
employed in a hazardous occupation in which a course of study has been completed but only to the extent that said hazardous occupation would otherwise be prohibited;
(2) Hazardous work performed by nonpaid volunteers of a volunteer fire department or company or volunteer rescue squad who have completed or are taking a course of study relating to fire fighting or rescue and who are 14 years of age or older; or
(3) Any child over the age of 14 years who may be employed, permitted or suffered to work in any nonhazardous occupation in any facility used for the purpose of canning or preserving, or preparation for canning or preserving, perishable fruits and vegetables.
With respect to paragraphs (8) and (9), the burden of proving a child's age to be 14 years or over shall be on the employer, who shall be required by the Department of Labor to present documentary proof of the child's age.
(c) 'Hazardous occupation' means an occupation declared to be dangerous by this chapter, by the Secretary of Labor of the State of Delaware, or by the Secretary of Labor of the United States pursuant to the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
(a) 'Secretary' means the Secretary of Labor for the State of Delaware or his/her authorized representative.
(a) 'Department' or 'Department of Labor' means the Department of
Labor of the State of Delaware.
§503. Powers and Duties of Secretary
(a) The Secretary or his/her authorized representative shall enforce the provisions of this chapter.
(b) The Secretary or his/her authorized representative may enter and inspect, during reasonable business hours, any place of employment and may examine the employment records of any employee and question any employee for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this chapter.
(c) The Secretary or his/her designee may hold public hearings to determine if additional occupations exist in which employment of minors should be prohibited.
(d) In the event of an emergency or major disaster, the Secretary is authorized, with the consent of the Governor, to suspend temporarily the enforcement of any or all of the provisions of this chapter for the duration of the emergency or major disaster.
§504. Employment Certificates
(a) A minor shall not engage in employment unless the employer has in his/her possession a verified and validated employment certificate for the minor. The employer shall keep the certificate on file at all times and make it accessible to the Department of Labor upon request.
(b) The superintendent of each school district or his/her authorized designee and the Department of Labor shall issue work permits as prescribed by the Secretary. The person designated to do so by each superintendent shall be an employee employed by the school on a twelve month or complete calendar year basis. If the superintendent of a school district fails or refuses to designate some person to issue employment certificates, the Director of the Division of Industrial Affairs shall designate some person to so act. Any designation may be revoked by the Director of the Division of Industrial Affairs at his/her pleasure.
The Labor Law Enforcement Section of the Department of Labor shall keep a record of all persons who are duly authorized to issue certificates in the various school districts of the State.
(c) The. age of a minor shall be verified by a certified copy of a birth certificate, baptismal certificate (showing the date of birth), school record, passport, valid driver's license, or any official government document attesting to the age of the minor.
§505. Minors under fourteen ears of age
A minor under the age of 14 years shall not be employed or permitted to work.
§506. Miners under sixteen veers of age
(a) A minor under 16 years of age shall not be employed or permitted to work in, about, or in connection with:
(1) Any employment during the prescribed school day;
(2) Any occupation prohibited by the United States Secretary of Labor pursuant to the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act;
(1) The operation, cleaning, or adjusting of any power-driven machinery, appliances, or tools, other than office machinery and food or beverage dispensing machines where the moving parts are not exposed to the operator;
(2) Meat slicers;
(1) Deep fat fryers;
(1) Steamers and pressure cookers used in the preparation of food;
(1) Boilers;
(1) Stripping and sorting tobacco;
(1) Construction or demolition projects;
(2) Tunnels or excavations;
(3) Mines, quarries, or borrow pits;
(4) Coal breakers or coke ovens; or
(5) Any other occupation which, following a public hearing by the Department of Labor, the Secretary deems to be injurious to the health, safety, welfare, or morals of the minor.
(b) Subsection (a)(1) shall not apply to a minor who has been excused from public school attendance by the public school authorities.
(c) Subsection (a) shall not apply to a minor:
(1) who is enrolled in a work-study, student-learner, or similar program where the employment is an integral part of the course of study, and the employment is procured and supervised by the school district; or
(2) engaged in the practice of farm labor with adult supervision.
(d) A minor under 16 years of age shall not be employed or permitted to work more than:
(I) Four hours on any day when school is in session;
(2) Eight hours on any day when school is not in session;
(3) Eighteen hours in any week when school is in session for five days;
(4) Forty hours in any week when school is not in session; and
(5) Six days in any week.
(e) A minor under 16 years of age shall not be employed or permitted to work before 7:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m.; except that a minor under 16 years of age may be employed or permitted to work until 9:00 p.m. during the period each year from June 1 through Labor Day.
(f) The hours worked by a minor enrolled in a bona fide work-study or student-learner program when school is normally in session shall not be counted towards the permissible hours of work prescribed in subsection (d) of this section.
§507. Minors under 18 years of age
(a) A minor under 18 years of age shall not be employed or permitted to work in, about, or in connection with:
(1) Any occupation prohibited by the United States Secretary of Labor pursuant to the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act;
(2) Blast furnaces;
(3) Docks or wharves, other than marinas where pleasure boats are sold or serviced;
(4) Railroads;
(5) The erection and/or repair of electrical wires;
(1) Distilleries where alcoholic beverages are manufactured,
bottled, labelled, wrapped, or packaged;
(2) The manufacturing of dangerous or toxic chemicals or compounds;
(3) Any other occupation which the Secretary deems injurious to the health, safety, welfare or morals of the minor;
(4) Any occupation as a pilot, fireman, or engineer on any vessel or boat engaged in commerce; or
(5) Any occupation as a messenger for a telegraph, telephone or messenger company in the distribution, delivery, collection, or transmission of goods or messages before 6:00 a.m. or after 10:00 p.m. of any day in any town or city having a population of over 20,000 persons.
(b) Subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to a minor under 18 years of age who is enrolled in a work-study, student-learner, apprenticeship, or similar program where the employment is an integral part of the course of study, and the employment is procured and supervised by the school system or by a federal or state monitored apprenticeship program.
(c) A minor under 18 years of age shall not spend more than twelve hours in a combination of school hours and work hours per day.
(a) A minor under 18 years of age shall have at least eight
consecutive hours of nonwork, nonschool time each 24 hours day.
(b) A minor under 18 years of age shall not be employed or permitted to work more than five hours continuously without a nonworking period of at least one-half hour.
§508. Special Permit for Model Performer or Entertainer
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, no child
under 16 years of age shall be employed, permitted or suffered to work for compensation of any kind as a model, performer or entertainer upon the stage of any theater or concert hall or in connection with any theatrical performance or other exhibition or show.
(a) The Department of Labor may issue a permit allowing a child under the age of 16 years to be employed as a model, performer or entertainer for a limited period, when, in its opinion, such permit is justified by the evidence presented to it.
§509. Interference with Department of Labor: employment of minor in
violation of this chapter
(a) It is unlawful to interfere with or hinder the Department of Labor in the performance of Its duties under this chapter, or knowingly to give false information to the Department of Labor. Any person who is found to have violated the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction is subject to a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than 90 days or both.
(b) Any employer who employs or permits a minor to work in violation of any provision of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon
conviction is subject to a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than one year or both.
(c) Any employer who discharges or in any manner discriminates against an employee because that employee has made a complaint or has given information to the Department pursuant to this chapter, or because he has caused to be instituted or is about to cause to be instituted any proceeding under this chapter, or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceedings shall be deemed in violation of this chapter and shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $1,000 for each such violation.
§510. ,jurisdiction
Notwithstanding anything in Title 10 to the contrary, Court of Common Pleas shall have jurisdiction over violations of this Chapter."
Approved July 16, 1991.