A5588

An Act concerning child labor laws and amending P.L.1962, c.91.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 3 of P.L.1962, c.91 (C.34:2-21.59) is amended to read as follows:

3. a. Upon application of an employer, bearing the endorsed approval of a parent or guardian of the minor, or upon the application of a parent or guardian of the minor, a permit authorizing employment of the minor in a theatrical production may be issued if:

(a) The minor is in good health and will not likely be endangered by the working conditions of the prospective employment as certified by a currently issued statement of a licensed physician based upon a physical examination which, for minors under [8] eight years of age, includes a visual acuity screening if practicable;

(b) The place of employment is approved by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the period for which the permit is desired is not in excess of [3] three months;

(c) The minor is not attending public school and the application is for a period other than during the school summer vacation period, that [he] the minor is receiving [equivalent instruction approved by the Department of Education or by the state or county of his residence if he is a nonresident of New Jersey] three hours of schooling per missed day of school by a tutor provided by the employer, with the tutor having discretion to permit the minor to choose to engage in one additional hour of schooling per school day, and up to four additional hours on holidays, which can be counted toward the three-hour daily schooling requirement on other days in the same calendar week;

(d) The proposed employment [will] shall not exceed two shows or productions in a day or a total of eight shows or productions in any week where the professional employment is reasonably separable into discrete shows or productions; that the employment [will] shall not be for more than [6] six days in any week, [5 hours in any day or a total of 24 hours, including rehearsal time, in any week], and that the minor [will] shall not be employed before 7:00 a.m. or after 11:30 p.m. and that [school and theatrical performance time] employment shall not exceed [8 hours in any 1 day and that the combined time spent on a set or on call and performance time shall not exceed a total of eight hours in any one day], for a minor:

(i) between six years old and under nine years old, up to six hours in a day and time on set shall not exceed eight hours in a day;

(ii) between nine years old and under 16 years old, up to seven hours in a day and time on set shall not exceed nine hours in a day; and

(iii) between 16 years old and under 18 years old to work on set for up to 8 hours a day and time on set shall not exceed 10 hours in a day;

(e) The employment does not involve a type of prohibited performance as [hereinafter] defined in section 1 of P.L.1962, c.91 (C.34:2-21.57); and

(f) The minor will be under the direct care and supervision of an adult who is a parent, guardian or a representative of the employer, named in the application, at all times during [his] the minor’s employment or while living away from home when required as an incident of such employment.

b. A permit or certificate, as the case may be, may be issued by the issuing officer or by the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development in cases involving a significant contribution to the development of the motion picture industry in the State as determined by the Motion Picture and Television Development Commission. In such cases, the commissioner shall also have the authority to alter or amend the hours of the day but not the total hours in the day during which a minor may work as set forth in paragraph (d), subsection a. of this section, if such alteration or amendment will not foreseeably impair the educational instruction, supervision, health and welfare of the minor, and such an alteration or amendment is necessary for good reasons shown by the employer. The commissioner shall set forth the terms of any alteration or amendment in the permit or certificate.

c. During a state of emergency or public health emergency, any aspect of the authorization requiring the personal appearance of the minor or the minor's parent or guardian may be satisfied through the use of audio-visual technology in a manner consistent with the provisions of subsection b. of section 8 of P.L.1940, c.153 (C.34:2-21.8).

d. Notwithstanding the time limitations in paragraph (d) of subsection a. of this section, a minor may be employed between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 12:30 a.m. on any day preceding a non-school day.

e. An application for a permit authorizing employment of a minor in a theatrical production made by a parent or guardian of the minor under this section shall be valid for a period of one year that shall permit a minor to work for multiple employers or on multiple productions in accordance with the requirements of P.L.1962, c.91 (C.34:2-21.57 et seq.). Nothing in this subsection shall relieve an employer of a minor from the requirement to provide a tutor for the minor pursuant to paragraph (d) of subsection a. of this section.

f. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development shall establish and maintain a registration system for permits authorizing employment of a minor in a theatrical production that is independent from the registration database for minors established in section 6 of P.L.2022, c.63 (C.34:2-21.1a). The registration system for employment of a minor in accordance with this section shall require the parent or guardian of the minor to create one account, which may also be accessed, but not operated, by the minor, for purposes of applying for a permit authorizing the employment of the minor in a theatrical production. Any person applying for a permit pursuant to this section shall not also be required to register in the database established in section 6 of P.L.2022, c.63 (C.34:2-21.1a) if the sole purpose for the registration is for the permit authorizing the employment of the minor in a theatrical production because the registration system created by P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be the exclusive process for obtaining that permit.

(cf: P.L.2021, c.162, s.3)

2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of enactment, except that the commissioner shall take any anticipatory administrative action as may be necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.

STATEMENT

This bill revises the child labor laws concerning the employment of a minor in a theatrical production. Specifically, the bill revises the hours in which a minor may work each day on a production so that a minor:

(1) between six and under nine years old may work up to six hours in a day, with time on set not exceeding eight hours in a day;

(2) between nine and under 16 years old may work up to seven hours in a day, with time on set not exceeding nine hours in a day; and

(3) between 16 years old and under 18 years old may work on set for up to 8 hours a day, with time on set not exceeding 10 hours in a day.

The bill further provides that on a day not preceding a school day, a minor may work between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 12:30 a.m. The bill creates a registration system independent of the system for other working minors that allows one account to be shared by a parent or guardian and a minor and allows a parent or guardian to apply for a multi-employer or multi-production permit that will be valid for one year. An employer for a theatrical production may still apply for a single production permit on behalf of a minor, with the consent of a parent or guardian.

The bill changes the schooling requirements for a minor in a theatrical production to require that the employer provide a tutor for the minor who will provide schooling to the minor for three hours per day on a day of employment. The bill provides that additional schooling may be permitted under certain circumstances that may count toward the three-hour daily schooling requirement.

This bill is modeled after child theatrical labor requirements in California and New York, as well as guidelines established by the Screen Actors Guild.