In Subpart A of this part, reference was made to a number of regulations which discuss provisions of the Act, such as general coverage, overtime compensation, joint employment, hours worked, and methods of payment of wages, which are applicable to others as well as to retailers and their employees. (See § 779.6.) In addition to those provisions, the act contains other provisions of interest to retailers and their employees. It is the purpose of this subpart to focus attention on several of the more significant provisions in these categories.

Section 6(d) of the Act provides:

Official interpretations of the Department of Labor with respect to the provisions of section 6(d) are found in part 800 of this chapter.

(a) The Act's prohibitions in relation to employment of child labor, which may have application to retailers, are found in section 12(a) and section 12(c). Section 12(a) reads as follows:

Section 12(c) provides:

(b) “Oppressive child labor” is defined by the Act, for purposes of the foregoing provisions, in the language set forth in § 779.505.

(c) Sections 570.1 to 570.129 of this chapter contain applicable regulations and a detailed discussion of the child labor provisions of the Act. Although those sections offer guidance for all including retailers, there are set forth in §§ 779.503 through 779.508 pertinent provisions and a brief discussion of the standards which are of particular interest to those in the retail field.

Section 12(a) prohibits certain shipments or deliveries for shipment by “producers,” “manufacturers” “or dealers.” These terms having appeared in this section prior to the 1961 amendments are defined and described in § 570.105 of this chapter, and said definitions remain unchanged. It should be noted that the term “manufacturer” as used in section 12(a) includes retailers who, in addition to retail selling, engage in such manufacturing activities as the making of slipcovers or curtains, the baking of bread, the making of candy, or the making of window frames. Further, the term “dealers” refers to anyone who deals in goods including persons engaged in buying, selling, trading, distributing, delivering, etc. “Dealers,” therefore, as used in section 12(a) include retailers. Therefore, where a retailer's business unit is covered under the Act and he is a producer, manufacturer or dealer within the meaning of this section, the retailer must comply with the requirements of section 12(a). If a retailer's business unit which is covered under the Act is exempt as a retail or service establishment under section 13 of the Act from the monetary requirements of the Act, the requirements of the child labor provisions must still be met. Thus, retail or service establishments, in covered enterprises, doing less than $250,000 annually, must comply with the child labor requirements even if they are exempt from minimum wage and overtime provisions under section 13(a)(2) of the Act.

Section 12(c) was amended in 1961 to prohibit the employment of oppressive child labor in any enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce. Thus, employers in every enterprise which is covered under the Act must comply with section 12(c) of the child labor provisions of the Act. As stated in § 779.503, compliance with this provision is necessary even though the employers in a particular establishment or establishments of a covered enterprise are exempt from the requirement of compensating employees in accordance with sections 6 and 7 of the Act.

Section 3(1) of the Act defines oppressive child labor as follows:

The Act sets a 16-year minimum for employment in manufacturing or mining occupations. Furthermore, this age minimum is applicable to employment in all other occupations unless otherwise provided by regulation or order issued by the Secretary.

(a) Prohibited occupations. With respect to employment in occupations other than manufacturing and mining, the Secretary is authorized to issue regulations or orders lowering the age minimum to 14 years where he finds that such employment is confined to periods which will not interfere with the minors' schooling and to conditions which will not interfere with their health and well-being. Pursuant to this authority, the Secretary permits the employment of 14- and 15-year-old children in a limited number of occupations where the work is performed outside school hours and is confined to other specified limits. Under the provisions of Child Labor Regulations, subpart C (§§ 570.31 through 570.38 of this chapter), employment of minors in this age group is not permitted in the following occupations:

(1) Manufacturing, mining, or processing occupations including occupations requiring the performance of any duties in a workroom or workplace where goods are manufactured, mined, or otherwise processed;

(2) Occupations involving the operation or tending of hoisting apparatus or of any power-driven machinery other than office machines;

(3) The operation of motor vehicles or service as helpers on such vehicles;

(4) Public messenger service;

(5) Occupations declared to be particularly hazardous or detrimental to health or well-being by the Secretary;

(6) Occupations in connection with (i) transportation of persons or property by rail, highway, air, water, pipeline, or other means; (ii) warehousing and storage; (iii) communications and public utilities; and (iv) construction (including demolition and repair). Office and sales work performed in connection with the occupations specified in this subparagraph is permitted if such work is not performed on trains or any other media of transportation or at the actual site of construction operations.

(b) Permissible occupations; conditions. Employment of 14- and 15-year-olds in all occupations other than those in paragraph (a) of this section is permitted by the regulation under certain conditions specified in the regulation. The permissible occupations for minors between 14 and 16 years of age in retail, food service, and gasoline service establishments are listed in § 570.34. The periods and conditions of employment for such minors are set out in § 570.35.

To protect young workers from hazardous employment, the Act provides for a minimum age of 18 years in occupations found and declared by the Secretary to be particularly hazardous or detrimental to health or well-being of minors 16 and 17 years of age. These occupations may be found in §§ 570.51 through 570.68 of this chapter. Of particular interest to retailers are §§ 570.52, 570.58, 570.62 and 570.63 of this chapter pertaining to the occupations of motor-vehicle driver and outside helper, and occupations involving the operation of power-driven hoisting apparatus, bakery machines, and paper products machines.

Section 13(b)(11) exempts from the provisions of section 7 of the Act:

In order that an employee be exempt from the overtime provisions of the Act under section 13(b)(11) he must be employed as a driver or driver's helper making local deliveries, and, he must be compensated for such employment on a trip rate basis or other delivery payment plan, and such plan must be found by the Secretary to have the general purpose and effect of reducing the hours worked by the driver or driver's helper to, or below, the maximum workweek applicable to him under section 7(a) of the Act. If all the preceding conditions are not met the exemption is inapplicable.

As stated in § 779.510, before the section 13(b)(11) exemption may be claimed, the Secretary must find that the trip rate basis of compensation, or other delivery payment plan used to compensate a driver or a driver's helper making local deliveries, has the general purpose and effect of reducing the hours worked by these employees to, or below, the maximum workweek applicable to them under section 7(a) of the Act. The conditions under which such findings may be made, amended, or revoked, and the procedure for obtaining such a finding are set forth in the regulations in part 551 of this chapter.

Every employer who is subject to any of the provisions of the Act is required to maintain certain records. The recordkeeping requirements are set forth in regulations which have been published in subparts A and B of part 516 of this chapter. Subpart A contains the requirements applicable to all employers employing covered employees, including the general requirements relating to the posting of notices, the preservation and location of records and similar general provisions. Subpart A also contains the requirements relating to the records which must be kept for exempt executive, administrative, and professional employees and outside salesmen. Subpart B deals with information and data which must be kept with respect to employees who are subject to other exemptions and provisions of the Act.

No particular order or form of records is prescribed by the regulations. However, the records which the employer keeps must contain the information and data required by the specific sections of the regulations which are applicable. In addition, where the employer claims an exemption from the minimum wage or overtime or other requirements of the Act, he should also maintain those records which serve to support his claim for exemption, such as records of sales, purchases, and receipts.

Basic records, such as payroll records, certificates issued or required under the Act, and employment agreements and other basic records must be preserved for at least 3 years. Supplementary records such as time and earnings cards or sheets, wage rate tables, work time schedules, or order, shipping and billing records, and similar records need be preserved for only 2 years.

This discussion in subpart F of this part is intended only to indicate the general requirements of the recordkeeping regulations. Each employer subject to any provision of the Act should consult the regulations to determine what records he must maintain and the period for which they must be preserved.