Can you weigh in on potential liability of having 16 year old students operating machinery for mowing and road work?

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I have attached the Oklahoma Department of Labor FAQs, as well as, the ODOL law and regulations and the federal regulation. The ODOL pretty much mimics the federal law (FLSA).

Age:  The ODOL has said that the minimum age to be employed in Oklahoma is 14 years.  During the summer, a minor under the age of 16 may work for up to 8 hours a day.  Be sure the child is not in summer school though, because the rules are different for children in school.

Job:  The ODOL and the federal law prohibit minors under 18 years old from performing occupations they have labeled as hazardous.  Lawn mowing (other than the teens having their own mowing service) and road work are on that list.

In your situation, I would say that you cannot hire someone under 18 to mow or do road work.

Suzanne D. Paulson
General Counsel
spaulson@omag.org

-----Original Message-----
From: William W. Wheeler, Jr. wwheeler@oktitleattorney.com
Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2021 8:09 AM
To: oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Hiring part time high school help for summer

Can you weigh in on potential liability of having 16 year old students operating machinery for mowing and road work?

Sent from my iPhone

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Potential liability: Does a 16 year old have the knowledge and training necessary to ensure they can properly operate heavy road working equipment and comply with any applicable OSHA regulations?  Unlikely.  Potential liability would be the same as giving someone without a driver's license the key to your car.  Not to mention the risk to the safety of the 16 year old and those driving on the road.  I would have legal concerns.  At a minimum, I would recommend that the student employee be trained before getting into the cab or on the seat of any road working equipment, with a period of observation before they are turned loose to operate any heavy equipment.  Keep in mind that a 16 year old generally lacks legal capacity to contract, so any waiver or assumption of the risk agreement may not be binding on them.  I would also check with the insurance carrier to make certain there are no insurance requirements that must be met.  I have not looked at that issue but would not be surprised if an insurance policy included some language that limits the insurance company's liability if underage persons were allowed to operate certain types of equipment.  The city manager would have to weigh whether having an underage person operate a piece of heavy road working equipment is worth the risk of what would happen if a young person was involved in a debilitating accident or caused injury to another because of their lack of experience and knowledge.

Operating lawn equipment?  So long as it is the typical lawnmowers, weed eaters and the like I would have less practical concern but the same legal concerns.  While one might expect that most 16 year olds have operated typical lawn care equipment, many have never used a weed eater or run a lawn mower.  Again, at a minimum I would recommend training on any equipment and a period of observation before they are turned loose.  Some batwing and other lawn mowers and equipment can be very dangerous.  Typically, I do not believe our city allows student employees to operate dangerous equipment.

Jonathan E. Miller
City Attorney
City of Mustang
1885 Piedmont Road N., Suite B
P.O. Box 546
Piedmont, Oklahoma 73078
Telephone: (405) 883-6266
Facsimile: (405) 883-6155

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-----Original Message-----
From: William W. Wheeler, Jr. wwheeler@oktitleattorney.com
Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2021 8:09 AM
To: oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Hiring part time high school help for summer

Can you weigh in on potential liability of having 16 year old students operating machinery for mowing and road work?

Sent from my iPhone

Oama mailing list -- oama@lists.imla.org To unsubscribe send an email to oama-leave@lists.imla.org