HD51 - Child Labor Laws

  • Published: 1991
  • Author: Special Subcommittee
  • Enabling Authority: House Joint Resolution 148 (Regular Session, 1990)

Executive Summary:
A. Origin of Study

At the initial House Labor and Commerce meeting of the General Assembly's 1990 Session, the Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry provided the Committee with an overview of legislative issues pertinent to both the Department and the Committee. In this briefing, the Department indicated its desire to have Virginia's child labor laws reviewed and revised.

Subsequently, Delegate Munford, Chairman of the Labor and Commerce Committee, sponsored legislation (House Joint Resolution No. 148, 1990) which would have established a joint subcommittee to examine child labor laws. It was later determined that the study would take the form of a special subcommittee ("the subcommittee") consisting of members from the House Labor and Commerce and the Senate Commerce and Labor standing committees, who would be appointed by their respective chairmen.

B. Overview

The Commonwealth's laws relating to the employment of children were enacted in 1914 with the objective, as expressed by the Virginia Supreme Court, of preserving the lives and limbs of children. "Standard Red Cedar Chest Co. v. Monroe," 125 Va. 442, 99 S.E. 589 (1919). Administered by the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry ("the Department"), these statutes address the types of employment and hours of employment permitted and prohibited for children under the age of eighteen, and also prescribe penalties for violations.

Child labor in Virginia is also regulated at the federal level by the United States Department of Labor pursuant to the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.). The federal law applies to persons employed in interstate commerce or in the production of goods in interstate commerce. However, state law supersedes federal law when a state provision is more stringent than a corresponding federal statute or regulation.

Because federal law applies to the large majority of Virginia employers, inconsistencies between a number of state child labor provisions and federal provisions served as the focal point of this study. The subcommittee concluded that confusion caused by these inconsistencies would be reduced and greater protection would be provided to Virginia's working children if many of the Commonwealth's child labor provisions were amended to conform to the federal law. Among the subcommittee's recommendations to the General Assembly are many such changes (see Appendix B), including conforming provisions regarding permitted hours of work for fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds and the application of child labor laws to agricultural occupations.

The subcommittee convened seven meetings, which included three public hearings held throughout the Commonwealth. Through this process, the subcommittee gained valuable insight from a variety of perspectives about the practical impact of child labor laws (and their possible revision) on employers, the judiciary, schools, parents, and children. The recommendations of the subcommittee reflect thoughtful consideration of all such perspectives.

Following a brief discussion of child labor regulation at the state and federal levels, this report will review the work of the subcommittee, concentrating specifically upon its findings and recommendations, as well as the public policy implications of its proposals.