(1)(a) Minors 15 years of age or younger shall not be employed, permitted, or suffered to work before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. when school is scheduled the following day or for more than 15 hours in any one week. On any school day, minors 15 years of age or younger who are not enrolled in a career education program shall not be gainfully employed for more than 3 hours, unless there is no session of school the following day.

(b) During holidays and summer vacations, minors 15 years of age or younger shall not be employed, permitted, or suffered to work before 7 a.m. or after 9 p.m., for more than 8 hours in any one day, or for more than 40 hours in any one week.

(2) Minors 16 and 17 years of age shall not be employed, permitted, or suffered to work before 6:30 a.m. or after 11:00 p.m. or for more than 8 hours in any one day when school is scheduled the following day. When school is in session, minors 16 and 17 years of age shall not work more than 30 hours in any one week. On any school day, minors 16 and 17 years of age who are not enrolled in a career education program shall not be gainfully employed during school hours.

(3) Minors 17 years of age or younger shall not be employed, permitted, or suffered to work in any gainful occupation for more than 6 consecutive days in any one week.

(4) Minors 17 years of age or younger shall not be employed, permitted, or suffered to work for more than 4 hours continuously without an interval of at least 30 minutes for a meal period; and for the purposes of this law, no period of less than 30 minutes shall be deemed to interrupt a continuous period of work.

(5) The provisions of subsections (1)-(4) shall not apply to:

(a) Minors 16 and 17 years of age who have graduated from high school or received a high school equivalency diploma.

(b) Minors who are within the compulsory school attendance age limit who hold a valid certificate of exemption issued by the school superintendent or his or her designee pursuant to the provisions of s. 1003.21(3).

(c) Minors enrolled in a public educational institution who qualify on a hardship basis such as economic necessity or family emergency. Such determination shall be made by the school superintendent or his or her designee, and a waiver of hours shall be issued to the minor and the employer. The form and contents thereof shall be prescribed by the department.

(d) Children in domestic service in private homes, children employed by their parents, or pages in the Florida Legislature.

(6) The presence of any minor in any place of employment during working hours shall be prima facie evidence of his or her employment therein.

History.—s. 1, ch. 28240, 1953; s. 24, ch. 57-1; s. 6, ch. 57-224; s. 6, ch. 61-182; ss. 17, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 1, ch. 73-283; s. 2, ch. 75-195; s. 6, ch. 81-192; s. 1, ch. 86-13; s. 12, ch. 91-147; s. 170, ch. 97-103; s. 137, ch. 2000-165; s. 1009, ch. 2002-387; s. 81, ch. 2005-2.