Feds tighten work rules for young dealership employees
Dealers, who employ minors (those under 18) during the summer, during school breaks, after school and on weekends, should be mindful that federal and state laws restrict employed minors in certain hazardous occupations or to do certain hazardous jobs. For example, federal law constrains the ability of minors to operate vehicles on public roadways. See: L.1, NADAs Guide to the Fair Labor Standards and Equal Pay Acts, pp. 16-18.
Recently, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) clarified its rules governing child labor:
14- and 15-year-olds may not be employed in occupations that involve operating, tending, setting up, adjusting, cleaning, oiling or repairing any power-driven machinery, including but not limited to, lawn mowers, golf carts, all terrain vehicles (ATVs), trimmers, cutters, weed-eaters, edgers, etc. On the other hand, they may operate office equipment and vacuum cleaners.
14- and 15-year-olds generally may ride inside motor vehicles, but not on truck beds, running boards or bumpers, and not in conjunction with the transportation of persons or property (e.g., delivering parts). They generally may not load or unload motor vehicles, except for light non-power-driven hand tools (e.g., rakes, clippers, shovels or brooms) or personal items (e.g., back packs, lunch boxes and coats).
14 and 15-year-olds may work in connection with cars and trucks if confined to: dispensing gasoline and oil; courtesy service; car cleaning, washing and polishing by hand; but not if the work involves pits, racks or lifting apparatus, or the inflation of any tire mounted on a rim equipped with a removable retaining ring. Despite NADAs objections, cleaning, washing and polishing using any powered equipment is not permitted.
WANADA members with questions on these regulations should email NADA at regulatoryaffairs@nada.org. More information can also be found at the following DOL links:
General Child Labor Information
Download Bulletin PDF