The New York State Department of Labor reminds parents, minors and businesses of the laws governing youth in the workplace. New Yorkers must be aware of the number of hours youth are allowed to work, prohibited occupations and the required working papers before accepting a job.

"With summertime rapidly approaching, more and more youth in New York are beginning summer jobs," said State Labor Commissioner Linda Angello. "Parents, minors and businesses need to be aware of child labor laws to ensure the safety of our youth and guarantee a positive work experience."

Last spring, the Department of Labor distributed Workplace Bookmarks to more than 700 school systems in the state. The bookmarks are designed to help students better understand the rules and restrictions that they face when finding a job during non-school hours. They provide the students with information about employment certificates, age and hour restrictions, prohibited occupations, and workplace rights.

The most common labor violation regarding the employment of minors is lack of working papers. Working papers must be issued to the adolescents by the school they attend and must be specific to their age. Working papers for 14 and 15 year olds are different from working papers for 16 and 17 year olds. Without the proper working papers, young men and women cannot work legally in this state.

With some exceptions, minors not yet 14 years old may not be employed at any time, either after school or during vacation. However, minors 12 years of age or older may be employed in the hand harvest of berries, fruits and vegetables. Also, minors 11 years of age or older may work outside school hours as newspaper carriers to deliver, or sell and deliver, newspapers, shopping papers, or periodicals to homes or business places.

There are age and hour restrictions for youth during summer vacation that differ from regulations during the school year. While not in school, 14 and 15 year olds are allowed to work no longer than 40 hours a week, and youth 16 and 17 cannot work more than 48 hours in a week. In both cases, they are not permitted to work any longer than eight hours a day.

For youth 16-18, some occupations are prohibited by state and federal law. For example, they are prohibited from operating band saws, circular saws and guillotine shears and cannot be employed in painting or exterior cleaning of a building structure from an elevated surface. Fields such as construction, logging, roofing and mining also are prohibited.

Minors 14-15 years old are prohibited from working in any of the occupations listed above. Also, they are not allowed to work in manufacturing or operate any washing, grinding, cutting, slicing, pressing or mixing machinery. All minors are not permitted to clean, oil, wipe or adjust belts to machinery.

Young job seekers are advised by the Labor Department to use their best judgment in finding the job that is right for them. Anyone with questions about laws pertaining to youth in the workplace can contact the nearest Labor Standards office or visit the New York State Department of Labor's web site at www.labor.state.ny.us/html/workprot/minors.htm.