§ 570.37 Work-study program.

(a) This section varies the provisions contained in § 570.35(a)(1) and (a)(5) for the employment of minors 14 and 15 years of age who are enrolled in and employed pursuant to a school-supervised and school-administered work-study program that meets the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section, in the occupations permitted by § 570.34, and for the periods and under the conditions specified in paragraph (c) of this section. With these safeguards, such employment is found not to interfere with the schooling of the minors or with their health and well-being and therefore is not deemed to be oppressive child labor.

(b)

(1) A school-supervised and school-administered work-study program shall meet the educational standards established and approved by the State Educational Agency in the respective state.

(2) The superintendent of the public or private school system supervising and administering the work-study program shall file with the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division a letter of application for approval of the work-study program as one not interfering with schooling or with the health and well-being of the minors involved and therefore not constituting oppressive child labor. The application shall be filed at least sixty days before the start of the school year and must include information concerning the criteria listed in paragraph (b)(3) of this section. The Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division shall approve the application, or give prompt notice of any denial and the reasons therefor.

(3) The criteria to be used in consideration of applications under this section are the following:

(i) Eligibility. Any student 14 or 15 years of age, enrolled in a college preparatory curriculum, whom authoritative personnel from the school attended by the youth identify as being able to benefit from the program shall be able to participate.

(ii) Instructional schedule. Every youth shall receive, every school year he or she participates in the work-study program, at least the minimum number of hours of classroom instruction, as required by the State Educational Agency responsible for establishing such standards, to complete a fully-accredited college preparatory curriculum. Such classroom instruction shall include, every year the youth participates in the work-study program, training in workplace safety and state and federal child labor provisions and rules.

(iii) Teacher-coordinator. Each school participating in a work-study program shall designate a teacher-coordinator under whose supervision the program will operate. The teacher-coordinator shall generally supervise and coordinate the work and educational aspects of the program and make regularly scheduled visits to the workplaces of the participating students to confirm that minors participating in the work-study program are employed in compliance with all applicable provisions of this part and section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Such confirmation shall be noted in any letters of application filed by the superintendent of the public or private school system in accordance with paragraph (b)(2) of this section when seeking continuance of its work-study program.

(iv) Written participation agreement. No student shall participate in the work-study program until there has been made a written agreement signed by the teacher-coordinator, the employer, and the student. The agreement shall also be signed or otherwise consented to by the student's parent or guardian. The agreement shall detail the objectives of the work-study program; describe the specific job duties to be performed by the participating minor as well as the number of hours and times of day that the minor will be employed each week; affirm that the participant will receive the minimum number of hours of class-room instruction as required by the State Educational Agency for the completion of a fully-accredited college preparatory curriculum; and affirm that the employment of the minor will be in compliance with the child labor provisions of both this part and the laws of the state where the work will be performed, and the applicable minimum wage provisions contained in section 6 of the FLSA.

(v) Other provisions. Any other provisions of the program providing safeguards ensuring that the employment permitted under this section will not interfere with the schooling of the minors or with their health and well-being may also be submitted for use in considering the application.

(4) Every public or private school district having students in a work-study program approved pursuant to these requirements, and every employer employing students in a work-study program approved pursuant to these requirements, shall comply with the following:

(i) Permissible occupations. No student shall be assigned to work in any occupation other than one permitted under § 570.34.

(ii) Records and reports. A copy of the written agreement for each student participating in the work-study program shall be kept by both the employer and the school supervising and administering the program for a period of three years from the date of the student's enrollment in the program. Such agreements shall be made available upon request to the representatives of the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division for inspection, transcription, and/or photocopying.

(c) Employment of minors enrolled in a program approved pursuant to the requirements of this section shall be confined to not more than 18 hours in any one week when school is in session, a portion of which may be during school hours, in accordance with the following formula that is based upon a continuous four-week cycle. In three of the four weeks, the participant is permitted to work during school hours on only one day per week, and for no more than for eight hours on that day. During the remaining week of the four-week cycle, such minor is permitted to work during school hours on no more than two days, and for no more than for eight hours on each of those two days. The employment of such minors would still be subject to the time of day and number of hours standards contained in §§ 570.35(a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(4), and (a)(6). To the extent that these provisions are inconsistent with the provisions of § 570.35, this section shall be controlling.

(d) Programs shall be in force and effect for a period to be determined by the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, but in no case shall be in effect for longer than two school years from the date of their approval by the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division. A new application for approval must be filed at the end of that period. Failure to meet the requirements of this section may result in withdrawal of the approval.

(The information collection requirements contained in § 570.37 were approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1235–0018)

[75 FR 28452, May 20, 2010, as amended at 82 FR 2229, Jan. 9, 2017]