A paper copy may be obtained at no charge by contacting:
Elaine Pridgen, Office of Legal Counsel
Dept. of Workforce Development
201 E. Washington Avenue
P.O. Box 7946
Madison, WI 53707-7946
(608) 267-9403 or
pridgel@dwd.state.wi.us
Written Comments
Written comments on the proposed rules received at the above address no later than March 5, 2004, will be given the same consideration as testimony presented at the hearing.
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Workforce Development
Section
103.66, Stats., provides that the department may determine reasonable classifications of employment, places of employment, maximum hours of employment per day and per week, maximum days of employment per week, hours at which employment may begin and end and the duration of lunch and other rest periods, and prohibited hazardous employment as necessary to protect the life, health, safety, or welfare of minors. The proposed rule repeals and recreates the existing classifications in Chapter
DWD 270 with some substantive changes and some reorganization solely to clarify the rule language.
Hazardous employment. Proposed substantive changes to the provisions on minimum ages for hazardous employment and prohibited occupations or places of employment prejudicial to the life, health, safety, or welfare of minors include the following:
• No minor may be employed as an exotic dancer, regardless of whether liquor is sold in the establishment.
• No minor may work as a bouncer, crowd controller, or identification checker in establishments where liquor is present.
• No minor may work on or about a roof. The current rule prohibits minors from working in the installation of roofs but allows minors to work on or about a roof for other purposes. The proposed rule prohibits any work on a roof, including carpentry and metal work, gutter and downspout work, installation and servicing of television and communication equipment such as cable and satellite dishes, installation and servicing of heating and air conditioning equipment, and any similar work that is required to be performed upon or about roofs.
• The provision allowing occasional and incidental driving by minors is amended to coincide with federal law, as found in the “Drive for Teen Employment Act" (Public Law 105-334,
29 USC 213(c)(6)). The current rule provides that the driving must be during daylight hours, the minor must hold a driver's license for the type of driving involved and must have completed a state-approved driver education course, the automobile or truck does not exceed 6,000 pounds, and the vehicle is equipped with a seat belt for the driver and for each helper, and the employer has instructed each minor that such belts must be used. In addition to these provisions, the proposed changes include the following:
- The minor must be at least 17 years old. The current rule does not contain a minimum age.
- The driving may be no more than one-third of an employee's work time in any workday and no more than 20% of any employee's work time in any work week.
- The driving takes place within a 30 mile radius of the minor's place of employment.
- The driving does not involve the towing of vehicles; route deliveries or route sales; transportation for hire of property, goods, or passengers; urgent, time-sensitive deliveries; or the transporting at any time of more than 3 passengers, including the employees of the employer.
- The driving performed by the minor does not involve more than two trips away from the primary place of employment in any single day for the purpose of delivering goods of the minor's employer to a customer or for the purpose of transporting passengers other than the employees of the employer.
• An exception to the general prohibition against minors working in any occupation involved with paper-products machines is created to coincide with federal law at Public Law 104-174,
29 USC 213(c)(5)(A). The exception in federal law and the proposed rule provides that 16- and 17-year-old minors may load materials into, but not operate or unload, a scrap paper baler or a paper box compactor only if all of the following conditions are met:
- The scrap paper baler or paper box compactor meets the applicable ANSI standard.
- The scrap paper baler or paper box compactor includes an on-off switch incorporating a key-lock or other system and the control of the system is maintained in the custody of employees who are 18 years of age or older.
- The on-off switch of the scrap paper baler or paper box compactor is maintained in an off position when the machine is not in operation.
- The employer posts a notice on the scrap paper baler or paper box compactor in a prominent position and easily visible to any person loading, operating, or unloading the machine stating that: “The scrap paper baler or compactor meets the industry safety standard applicable to the machine, Standard ANSI Z245.5-1990 for scrap paper balers and Standard ANSI Z245.2-1992 for paper box compactors. Sixteen- and 17-year-old employees may only load the scrap paper baler or paper box compactor. No employee under the age of 18 may operate or unload the scrap paper baler or paper box compactor."
• The definition of explosives is revised in the subsection prohibiting minors from working with certain explosives. The current rule refers to explosives designated by the Interstate Commerce Commission, which was abolished in 1995. The proposed rule refers to explosives designated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to be covered by
18 USC 841(d), relating to importation, manufacture, distribution, and storage of explosive materials.
• An exception is added to the prohibition against minors operating hoists to clarify existing law. Sixteen- and 17-year-old minors may operate floor jacks, service jacks, hand jacks, drive-on lifts, and arm lifts used in conjunction with repairing or servicing motor vehicles. No minor under 16 years of age may operate a motor vehicle lift of any type or work in a pit underneath a motor vehicle.
Hours minors may work. An exception to the requirement that minors 12 and 13 years of age may not be employed more than 6 days per week is created for minors working in farming. The latest time that minors 16 and 17 years of age may work on days not preceding school days is changed from 12:30 a.m. to 12 midnight. Students who are enrolled in a private or public school but receiving instruction at home through special arrangement may work the same hours as if they were attending the public school. Students enrolled in a charter school may not work during hours they are scheduled to be in the charter school.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
The proposed rules prevent small businesses from hiring minors in certain occupations deemed hazardous to the minors' health, safety, or welfare.
Fiscal Estimate
The proposed rules prevent governmental bodies from hiring minors in certain occupations deemed hazardous to the minors' health, safety, or welfare but these prohibitions have no fiscal impact.
