Prohibited Occupations for Young Workers
The work accident rate incidence is twice the average for workers under 18. The list below pertains only to workers under 18 years of age and is not all inclusive. If you have a question about a specific occupation, call the Division of Wage and Hour Compliance at (609) 292-2305.
Prohibited Products
Prohibited Machines
Prohibited Establishments
Prohibited Activities
Prohibited Products
- Paints, colors, white and red lead. (Manufacture and packing only.)
- Dangerous or poisonous acids and dyes.
- Injurious quantities of toxic or noxious dust, gases, vapors, or fumes.
- Benzol or any benzol compound which is volatile or which can penetrate the skin.
- Explosives. (Manufacture, transportation or use only.)
- Toxic and hazardous substances.
- Radioactive substances and ionizing radiation.
- Carcinogenic substances.
- Corrosive materials.
- Highly inflammable substances.
- Pesticides.
Prohibited Machines
- Power-driven woodworking machinery. (Supervised bona-fide apprentices may do this work.)
- Grinding, abrasive, polishing, or buffing machines.
- Punch presses and stamping machines with over 1/4 inch clearance.
- Guillotine action cutting machines.
- Corrugating, crimping, or embossing machines.
- Paper lace machines.
- Dough brakes or mixing machines in bakeries or cracker machinery.
- Calendar rolls or mixing rolls in rubber manufacturing.
- Centrifugal extractors or mangles in laundries or dry cleaning establishments.
- Operation or repair of elevators or other hoisting apparatus. (They may operate the push button type.)
- Corn pickers, power-driven hay balers, or power field choppers.
- Compactors.
- Circular saws, band saws, guillotine shears.
- Minors under 16 may use standard domestic type machines or appliances, standard office machines, standard types of poultry feeders, egg graders, egg washers, egg coolers, and milking machines but may not use other power-driven machinery such as power tools, power lawn mowers, power woodworking and metal worker tools and power-driven meat slicing and meat grinding machines or conveyors.
Prohibited Establishments
- Ore reduction works, smelters, hot rolling mills, furnaces, foundries, forging shops or any other place in which the heating, melting, or heat treatment of metals is carried on.
- Mines and quarries.
- Establishments where alcoholic liquors are distilled, rectified, compounded, brewed, manufactured, bottled or sold for consumption on the premises.*
- Pool and billiard rooms.
- Junk and scrap metal yards.
- Disorderly houses.
* See Child Labor Law or Abstract for exceptions
Prohibited Activities
- Oiling, wiping, or cleaning machinery in motion or assisting therein.
- Steam boilers carrying a pressure in excess of 15 pounds.
- Construction work.
- Fabrication or assembly of ships.
- Transportation of payrolls off the employer's premises.
- Demolition of buildings, ships, or heavy machinery.
- Indecent of immoral exposure.
- Most occupations in slaughtering, meat packing, processing, or rendering.
