Chap. 302.—An ACT to amend and reenact Sections 1, 2 and 3 as amended, 4, 5,
6 as amended, 7, 9, 10 as amended, 13 as amended, 14, 17, and 18 of Chapter 489
of the Acts of Assembly of 1922, approved March 27, 1922, relating to the
employment of children. [S 140]

Approved March 17, 1948

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That sections one, two and three as amended, four, five,
six as amended, seven, nine, ten as amended, thirteen, ‘fourteen as
amended, seventeen and eighteen of chapter four hundred eighty-
nine of the Acts of Assembly of nineteen hundred twenty-two, ap-
proved March twenty-seven, nineteen hundred twenty-two, be
amended and reenacted as follows:

Section 1. Employment of children under fourteen—No child
under fourteen years of age shall be employed, permitted or suffered
to work in, about, or in connection with any gainful occupation, ex-
cept farm work performed outside school hours with the consent
of the child’s parent or guardian, and except as specified in this
section or sections thirteen and fifteen of this act.

No child under sixteen years of age shall be employed, permitted
or suffered to work in, about, or in connection with any gainful
occupation during school hours, unless he has completed high
school, or unless he has reached the age of fourteen and a provi-
sional employment certificate has been issued for his employment
as provided in section three, or unless he has reached the age of
fourteen and is enrolled in a regular school work-training program
and a work-training certificate has been issued for his employment
as provided in section three of this act.

No child under sixteen years of age shall be employed, per-
mitted, or suffered to work in, any manufacturing or mechanical
establishment or commercial cannery at any time, except in purely
office work or, in such canneries, work not involving and in separate
rooms from the actual processing of food products. Nothing in the
preceding sentence shall be construed as applying to community
non-commercial packing or canning establishments, and nothing in
this section shall be construed as qualifying the provisions of sec-
tion thirteen of this act.

Nothing in this act shall be construed to apply to the employ-
ment of a child engaged in domestic work when such work is per-
formed in connection with the child’s own home and directly for
his parent or the person standing in place of his parent, or in occa-
sional work performed by a child outside school hours where such
work is in connection with the home of the employer but not in
connection with his business, trade, or profession. Nothing in
this act shall relate to work outside school hours on farms, in
orchards or in gardens performed with the consent of the child’s
parent or guardian.
Nothing in this act shall apply to a child who was lawfully
employed for a period of ninety days prior to the effective date of
this act.

Section 2. Employment of children under eighteen.—Except
as provided in sections thirteen, fourteen and fifteen of this act,
no child under eighteen years of age shall be employed, permitted,
or suffered to work in, about, or in connection with any gainful
occupation, (1) more than six days in any one week, except on
farms, orchards or in gardens; (2) nor more than forty hours in any
one week; (3) nor more than eight hours in any one day; (4) nor
before the hour of seven o’clock in the morning, nor after the
hour of six o’clock in the evening, except on farms, in orchards, or
in gardens; provided, however, that boys sixteen and seventeen
years of age may be employed until midnight, and girls of such
age who are enrolled in school may be employed until ten o'clock
in the evening, and girls of such age who are not enrolled in school
may be employed until eleven o’clock in the evening. No child
under eighteen years of age shall be employed or permitted to
work for more than five hours continuously without an interval of
at least thirty minutes for a lunch period, and no period of less than
thirty minutes shall be deemed to interrupt a continuous period of
work, Every employer shall post and keep posted conspicuously
in the place where any child is employed, permitted, or suffered to
work, a printed notice, setting forth the maximum number of
hours such child may be required, or permitted, to work each day of
the week, the hours of beginning and ending of work each day, and
the hours when the time allowed for meals begins and ends. Nothing
in this section shall apply to the work of children sixteen years of
age and over on farms, in orchards, or in gardens, nor to any per-
son employed by the State Department of Highways.

Section 3. Employment certificate required—No child under
eighteen years of age shall be employed, permitted, or suffered to
work, in, about, or in connection with any gainful occupation with
the exception of work of children on farms, orchards, and in
gardens, and except as provided in sections thirteen, fourteen and
fifteen of this act, unless the person, firm, or corporation employing
such child, procures and keeps on file and accessible to any school
attendance officer, inspector of labor or other authorized person,
charged with the enforcement of this act, the employment certificate
as hereinafter provided, issued for such child provided, however,
that any child under eighteen years of age for whom an employment
certificate has been issued allowing him to work in a bowling
alley or motion picture theatre in the State may work in any other
bowling alley or motion picture theatre, but such other bowling
alley or motion picture theatre so employing such a child shall
forthwith submit to the person who issued the employment certi-
ficate the statement required under section five-a of this act and
shall keep a copy of such statement on file and accessible, and need
not keep on file the employment certificate.

Employment certificates shall be of four kinds; general employ-
ment certificates, work-training certificates, vacation or part-time
employment certificates, and provisional employment certificate.
A general employment certificate shall permit the employment of a
child between sixteen and eighteen years of age, or a child who has
completed high school, during the entire year. A vacation or part-
time employment certificate shall permit the employment of a
child between fourteen and eighteen years of age only during
school vacation periods or on days when school is not in session, or
outside school hours on school days. A work-training certificate
shall permit the employment of a child between fourteen and
eighteen years of age during school hours when enrolled in a
regular school work-training program. A provisional employment
certificate shall permit the employment of a child between fourteen
and sixteen years of age who has been found to be incapable of pro-
fiting from further school attendance. Such provisional employment
certificate shall be issued in accordance with section four of this
act by the officer named therein, and shall be issued according to
standards fixed by the State Board of Education regarding children
found to be incapable of profiting from further school attendance,
and shall be issued only to children who have been or will be re-
leased from school. A copy of such certificate shall be filed by the
issuing officer with the Commissioner of Labor and Industry. No
child shall be found incapable of profiting from further school
attendance, for the purposes of this section, if the division super-
intendent of schools shall find that such child may benefit from
available specialized instruction adapted to his needs. A provisional
employment certificate may be revoked if the Commissioner of
Labor and Industry or his authorized agent finds that such employ-
ment is not for the child’s best interests.

Section 4. Issuance of certificates—Employment certificates
shall be issued only by the chief school attendance officer or his
designated agent, or if there is no attendance officer, by the division
superintendent of schools, or by any person designated by him in
the city, town or county in which the child is to be employed and
only upon application in person of the child desiring employment,
accompanied by the parent, guardian or custodian of such child,
provided that in the case of a child sixteen or seventeen years of
age, the written consent of the child’s parent, guardian or custodian
may be presented in lieu of the personal appearance of such parent,
guardian or custodian. Where there is no attendance officer, the
division superintendent of schools shall designate one or more per-
sons to grant such permits in every city, town or county. The
person issuing such certificate shall have authority to administer
the oath provided for therein, or to make any investigation or
examination necessary for the issuance thereof. No fee shall be
‘charged for issuing any such certificate nor for administering any
oath or rendering any services in respect thereto. The officer issuing
the certificate shall establish and maintain proper records where
copies of all such certificates and all documents connected therewith
shall be filed and preserved.

Section 5. Certain proofs required.—The person authorized to
issue an employment certificate shall not issue such certificate until
he has received, examined, approved and filed the following papers:

(a) Except for work on farms or orchards or in gardens, a
statement signed by the prospective employer, or some one duly
authorized on his behalf, stating that he expects to give such child
present employment, setting forth the specific nature of the occupa-
tion in which he intends to employ such child, and the number of
hours per day and of days per week which said child shail be em-
ployed and the daily time of the beginning and ending of such
employment and of the period for lunch, and agreeing to send the
notice of the commencement of employment and to return the
certificate according to the provisions of this act.

(b) Proof of age as provided in section six of this act.

(c) A certificate of physical fitness as provided in section seven
of this act, issued within the preceding twelve-month period.

A school record, which shall be required in the case of
general and provision employment certificates, signed by the
principal of the school which the child last attended or by some
one duly authorized by him, giving the full name of the child, his
date of birth, grade last completed and his residence.

Section 6. Proofs of age—The evidence of age required by
this act shall consist of one of the following proofs of age, which
shall be required in the order herein designated :

(a) A birth certificate or attested transcript issued by a
registrar of vital statistics or other officer charged with the duty of
recording births.

(b) A baptismal record or duly certified transcript thereof
showing the date of birth and place of baptism of the child.

(c) Other documentary proof of age specified by the Commis-
sioner of Labor and Industry.

Section 7. Certificate of physical fitness—The certificate of
physical fitness required by this act shall be signed by a public
health or school physician, and shall be on a form approved by the
State Department of Health. It shall show height and weight of
the child and shall state that the child has been thoroughly examin-
ed by the physician within a period of ten days and has been found
to be of normal development for a child of his age, is in sound
health, and is physically qualified for the type of employment
specified in the statement submitted by the employer.
Section 9. Contents of employment certificates——The employ-
ment certificate required to be issued shall state the name, sex,
color, date of birth and place of residence of the child. It shall
certify that all the conditions and requirements for issuing an
employment certificate under the provisions of this act have been
fulfilled, and shall be signed by the person issuing it. It shall state
the kind of evidence of age accepted for the employment certificate.
Except for work on farms or orchards or in gardens, the certificate
shall show the name and address of the employer for whom and
the nature of the specific occupation in which the employment
certificate authorizes the child to be employed and shall be valid
only for the occupation so designated. It shall bear a number, shall
show the date of its issue, and shall be signed by the child for whom
it is issued in the presence of the person issuing it. It shall be issued
in triplicate, one copy to be mailed to the employer, one copy to be
sent to the State Commissioner of Labor and one copy to be retained
and kept on file by the issuing officer.

Section 10. Age certificates—An age certificate shall be issued,
upon request of the employer or the worker, for a child eighteen
years of age or over. It shall be issued by the person authorized
to issue employment certificates under the provisions of this act
upon presentation of the same evidence of age as required for an
employment certificate. The age certificates shall show the child’s
name and address, his date of birth and signature, the signature of
=“ person issuing the certificate and the evidence accepted as proof
of age.

ee employment or age certificate duly issued shall be conclusive
evidence of the age of the minor for whom issued in any proceeding
involving the employment of the minor under any of the labor laws
of this State as to any act occurring subsequent to its issuance and
prior to its revocation.

Section 13. Hazardous employment.—(a) No boy under six-
teen and no girl under eighteen years of age shall be employed,
permitted or suffered to work in any scaffolding or construction
work, or brick or lumber yard, or in any theatre, concert hall,
cabaret, carnival, floor show, pool hall, bowling alley or place of
amusement, or in any hotel, restaurant, road house, curb service
place or dry cleaning establishment or laundry the provisions of
this section shall not apply to children employed by dry cleaning
or laundry establishments where such children are engaged in
purely office work, or where they are employed in branch stores
where no processing is done; provided, however, nothing in this
section shall prevent or be construed to prohibit the employment of
a boy under sixteen or a girl under eighteen years of age, whether a
resident or non-resident of the State, in the presentation of a drama,
play, performance, concert or entertainment, provided the manage-
ment of the theatre or other public place where such performance is
to be held in the State shall secure a permit from the Commissioner
of Labor. No permit shall be issued unless the Commissioner of
Labor is satisfied that the environment in which the drama, play,
performance, concert or entertainment is to be produced is a proper
environment for the child, and that the conditions of such employ-
ment are not detrimental to the health or morals of such child and
that the child’s education will not be neglected or hampered by
participation in such drama, play, performance, concert or entertain-
ment. Applications for permits and every permit granted shall
specify the name, age and sex of each child, together with such
other facts as may be necessary for the proper identification of each
child and the dates when, and the theatres or other places of
amusement in which such drama, play, performance, concert or en-
tertainment is to be produced, and shall specify the name of the
drama, play, performance, concert or entertainment in which each
child is permitted to participate. A permit shall be revocable by the
Commissioner of Labor should it be found that the environment
in which the drama, play, performance, concert or entertainment
is being produced is not proper environment for the child and that
the conditions of such employment are detrimental to the health
or morals of such child. The Commissioner of Labor shall prescribe
and supply the forms required for carrying out the provisions of this
section.

(b) No child under eighteen years of age shall operate or assist
in operating any dangerous machinery or passenger or freight
elevator, or oil, assist in oiling, wiping or cleaning any such machin-
ery; nor shall they be employed, permitted or suffered to work in
any mine, tunnel, underground scaffolding work or handling
explosives, or in any capacity in preparing any composition in
which dangerous or poisonous chemicals are used, or in any capa-
city in the manufacture of paints, colors or white lead, or in any
place where goods of alcoholic content are manufactured, bottled or
sold for consumption on the premises (except in places where the
sale of alcoholic beverages is merely incidental to the main business
actually conducted).

Section 14. Employment of children as messengers——No male
under fourteen years of age and no female under eighteen years of
age shall be employed, permitted or suffered to work as a messenger
for any telegraph or messenger company or messenger service in
the distribution, transmission or delivery of goods or messages at
any time. No male under eighteen years of age and no girl under
twenty-one years of age shall be employed, permitted or suffered
to work as a messenger for any telegraph or messenger company
or service in the distribution, transmission or delivery of goods
or messages before five o’clock in the morning or after ten o’clock
in the evening of any day. In case of emergency only, a boy of legal
age may be employed for not more than three days as such a
messenger without an employment certificate, provided that the
employer immediately files a notice of such employment with the
person authorized to issue an employment certificate to such boy.

Section 17. Child labor offenses——Whoever employs, procures,
or, having under his control, permits a child to be employed, or
issues an employment certificate in violation of any of the pro-
visions of this act, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon con-
viction shall be fined not less than ten dollars nor more than fifty
dollars for the first offense, not less than twenty-five dollars nor
more than one hundred dollars for the second offense, and not less
than fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars for any subse-
quent offense, or in addition to such fine in the case of such subse-
quent offense, may be confined in jail not less than thirty days nor
more than ninety days. Any employment contrary to the provisions
of this act shall be prima facie evidence of guilt as to employer and
the person having control of the child.

Section 18. Enforcement of child labor law.—The Commis-
sioner of Labor, with the assistance of State and local law enforce-
ment officers, shall enforce the provisions of this act and shall have
authority to appoint such inspectors and assistants as may be
necessary to secure the enforcement of this act. He shall supervise
the work of the attendance officers or other persons in each city
and county authorized to enforce this act and shall make all neces-
sary rules and regulations for carrying out the purposes of this
act, and shall prescribe and supply to the proper officials blanks for
employment certificates, badges for street trade, and such other
forms as may be required for carrying out the provisions of this
act.