Labor and Labor Practices

Farm labor is considerably less restricted. Children of any age may perform any job without restriction on farms owned or operated by their parents. Youths age 16 or older may work in any farm job without limitation on hours or type of job. Youths age 14 and 15 may work in non-hazardous jobs outside of school hours. Farm jobs classified as hazardous include handling explosives or pesticides, working on ladders or scaffolding more than 20 feet high, and operating most farm machinery, such as harvesting and earth-moving machinery.

Children 12 and 13 years old may work outside school hours in non-hazardous jobs, provided they have parental consent. Children younger than twelve may not work on farms covered by the FSLA's minimum wage provisions. With parental consent they may work in non-hazardous jobs on other farms. Children aged 10 and 11 may work harvesting crops for up to eight weeks between June 1 and October 15; their employers must obtain special exemption from the Department of Labor for this.