labor lawAdivision of labor law center

I found that in the state of Arizona, the child labor laws of the state are enforced by the Labor Department. Employers are required to post the Arizona Child Labor Law Posters in the workplace for their employees to see. The Arizona Child Labor Law Posters have detailed information about these laws in the state of Arizona.

Also known as the Youth Employment Laws, these child labor laws are there to protect the youth of the state. When there is a difference between the Arizona youth employment laws and the Federal Government’s laws regulating minor’s employment, I learned that the more strictof the two laws always takes precedence.

In Arizona’s revised statutes chapter 23-230, I found that the hours minors are permitted to work and the occupations which they can hold have been established. As stated above, when the Federal law and the State law differs, the more restrictive of the two laws is the one enforced. An example of this is the state and federal laws dealing with 16 and 17 year olds driving on the job. The Federal Child Labor Law prohibits 16 and 17 year olds from driving on the job, while Arizona law says they can drive up to 2 hours or 25 % of their work day. The Federal Law is enforced in this example.

I found that other jobs minors 17 and under are restricted from holding include positions dealing with manufacturing or storing explosives, mining jobs, quarry jobs, logging jobs, anything dealing with radioactive materials, anything to do with slaughtering, and many more. Minors 15 and under are restricted even more, as they are not permitted to work in a laundry or dry cleaning shop, to work in a position involving cooking, and to work in a job involving the preparation of meat, to name a few.

Other youth labor laws deal with the hours minors can work. In Arizona, a youth under the age of 16 cannot work more than 3 hours on a school day, so long as that youth is enrolled and school is in session. They cannot work more than 8 hours on a day which is not a school day, and they cannot work more than 18 hours per week. A minor under 16 cannot work before 6 AM or after 9:30 PM if it is a school night. If there is no school on the following day, a minor can work until 11 PM. When school isn’t in session, these minors can work up to 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week.

There are a few exemptions from Arizona’s youth employment laws, but many times the Federal government’s laws are more strict and enforced.

To get a more detailed look at the youth employment laws in Arizona, check out the Arizona Child Labor Law Posters. You can also browse the Arizona Complete Labor Law poster, which is available reflecting all of the most current state and federal child labor laws.