BACK

New Labor Laws Regulate 15-Year-Old Lifeguards

The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed revising child labor law provisions pertaining to the employment of 15-year-old lifeguards. The changes, if the proposed regulations become final, would permit trained and certified 15-year-olds to work as lifeguards at traditional pool facilities, in traditional pools at most waterpark attractions, and at other waterpark facilities, including waterslide catch pools, wave pools, lazy rivers, and play areas.

Waterpark restrictions would not permit 15-year-olds to work as dispatchers or attendants at the top of waterslides, based upon height concerns and issues related to the tending of the slide.

Also, as described in the proposed revisions, 15-year-olds may not be employed as lifeguards in such natural-environment swimming facilities as rivers, streams, lakes, reservoirs, wharfs, piers, canals, or oceanside beaches.

Several states have laws addressing age requirements for lifeguards, some of which are more stringent than the federal guidelines. When state provisions differ from federal provisions, employers are held to the more stringent standards. For more information, click here.