How Does Hiring Minors Work in Connection with Arizona Workers’ Compensation?

During the summer months, certain businesses hire minors to help with jobs, such as newspaper deliveries, fast food restaurants (certain positions), and a host of other small jobs. Many young people take on lawn services and some light landscaping jobs, too. They may work for a landscaping company or conduct lawn-mowing services to earn money that is saved for college or other necessities.

How Young Can They Be?

When a minor is hired who is 15 years old or younger, a variance will be needed for that youngster to work at any of the following jobs, as defined by the Employment Law Handbook:

• Manufacturing: assembly, fabrication, construction
• Processing: particularly of foods, such as filleting fish, dressing poultry, cracking nuts
• Commercial laundry: laundering or dry cleaning
• Warehousing: loading and unloading, or moving items from trucks, railroad cars, conveyors, or buildings
• Construction: building, adding or subtracting from structures, repairs, wrecking or demolishing various structures (buildings, roads, railroads), excavations, erecting and using scaffolding, and more
• Retail food and gasoline service establishments: maintaining and/or repairing machines and equipment; with gasoline services – confined to dispensing of gasoline and oil, car wash and car detailing.
• Agricultural activities: all heavy mobile equipment must have rollover protective structures and seatbelts, any heavy mobile machinery, such as corn pickers, hay mowers, and more.

A more expanded listing can be found at this link from the handbook.

Arizona Workers’ Compensation would not cover family members working on their farms. Those who are hired by a company to conduct such agricultural activities as a business would be covered. Minors who are 14 to 15 years old are restricted to the following work time allowances, based on the Arizona Revised Statute § 23-233 (2018):

During regular school sessions:

• No more than 18 hours in one week
• Up to three hours daily
• No later than 9:30 p.m. the night before school and no earlier than 6:00 a.m. the day of school
• Cannot conduct sales or door-to-door deliveries after 7:00 p.m. on the day before school sessions.

School vacation periods:

• No more than 40 hours a week
• No more than eight hours a day
• Work hours past 11:00 p.m. or before 6:00 a.m.
• All solicitation sales and/or door-to-door deliveries cease by 7:00 p.m.

Driving on the Job

One notable restriction is that minors who are 16 and 17 years of age are not allowed to drive on the job. In various exceptions, they cannot drive while on the job for more than two hours in a day, or 25 percent of their workday. They also cannot drive over fifty miles per day on the job, according to the Labor Department’s restrictions.

Violations of the Child Labor Laws

An employer who has violated child labor laws may first receive a Cease and Desist Order. This order states the type of violation, a potential fine of up to $1,000, and the right to have a hearing. Violation of Arizona Child Labor Laws brings a guilty charge of a Class 2 misdemeanor.

Injury of a Minor on the Job

Arizona Workers’ Compensation will cover minors injured on the job. Depending on the severity of the injury, the employer may be viewed as having been careless and not looking after the minor. While payment of wages may not be very much for a minor, the minor and his family may be entitled to sue for a settlement, dependent on the circumstances of the injury and accident.

If you need to file a claim, call us at once for a consultation. 602-346-9009