Louisiana Rules on Employing Minors

In Louisiana, employers of minors must keep on file an employment certificate for each minor except for minors employed in federally funded youth training programs. The certificates must be accessible on the job site or in the work area at all times to any officer charged with the enforcement of the child labor laws.

The written permission of a parent or legal guardian is required before an employment certificate may be issued for a minor.

The superintendent or his or her designee must completely fill out and electronically submit the Employment Certificate Interactive Form located on the Department of Labor's web site. The employment certificate should be printed online from the web site from the information that has been entered onto the department's employment certificate database. The original employment certificate must be signed by the minor and the issuing authority and presented to the minor for delivery to his or her employer.

No minor under 18 may be employed unless the employer has an employment certificate on file. Minors under 16 working outside school hours and during vacations must have a vacation permit. Employment certificates issued to minors under 16 for work outside of school hours and during school vacations must be different in form and color from those issued to minors 16 years of age and older.

Louisiana's child labor law does not apply to minors employed in agriculture or domestic services in private homes.

Under certain circumstances, such as athletic events, exhibitions, fairs, carnivals or events of a similar nature and inventories at large department stores, blanket work permits may be issued by the Office of Labor for minors desiring employment. Work permits issued under this provision expire 60 days after issuance.

Performance permits are not required for: (1) the employment of any minor as a singer or musician in a church, school or academy; (2) the teaching or learning of the science or practice of music; (3) the participation by any minor, with the written consent of the minor's parent or tutor, in any theatrical or musical performance sponsored by a nonprofit private organization or public body; or (4) the participation by any minor, with a written permit issued by the Department of Labor (upon application by an authorized agent of the production company, including documentary proof of age and consent of a parent or guardian), in any commercial motion picture, film, theatrical performance or video produced or film in Louisiana. This does not apply to minors voluntarily participating in the production of advertisement.

A minor who is 17 years old and has not graduated from high school cannot work between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. prior to the start of a school day. A minor who is under the age of 16 cannot work between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. prior to the start of any school day or between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on any day. A minor who has taken and passed a General Education Development test (GED) and has been awarded a high school equivalency diploma from the Louisiana Department of Education is considered a high school graduate. These provisions do not apply to minors employed in the dairy industry. Employment of minors in Louisiana is subject to the provisions of a local curfew ordinance.

Effective August 15, 2005, contracts executed by or on behalf of a minor to provide artistic or creative services for compensation of $500 or more in Louisiana must require that 15 percent of the minor's gross earnings be placed in a trust fund until the minor is 18 years of age. If a trust account is not established by a trustee on behalf of the minor within 30 days of last employment, the employer must forward 15 percent of the minor's gross earnings, along with the minor's address and Social Security number, to the treasurer of the state of Louisiana to hold in trust on behalf of the minor. Contracts or employment arrangements agreed to for artistic or creative services must also include provisions for the minor's education, and if a minor is absent from school for two or more days in a 30 day period, the employer must employ a certified teacher, to begin on the second day of employment, who is to provide a minimum of three education instruction hours per day pursuant to lesson plans provided for the minor by the principal and teachers at the minor's school. Teacher to student ratio must be one teacher for every ten students.