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AN ACT

RELATING TO LABOR; REVISING CHILD LABOR PROVISIONS TO INCLUDE

THE FILM INDUSTRY; MODIFYING AGE REQUIREMENTS; PROVIDING FOR

APPEAL PROCEDURES; CHANGING PENALTIES; AMENDING, REPEALING

AND ENACTING CERTAIN SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

Section 1. A new section of Chapter 50, Article 6 NMSA

1978 is enacted to read:

"SHORT TITLE.--Chapter 50, Article 6 NMSA 1978 may be

cited as the "Child Labor Act"."

Section 2. A new section of the Child Labor Act is

enacted to read:

"EXCEPTIONS.--

A. A child under the age of sixteen may be

employed without obtaining a work permit and without the

restrictions on the age of the child or time of employment

imposed by Sections 50-6-1 through 50-6-3 NMSA 1978 if the

child is employed:

(1) by a parent in an occupation other than

manufacturing or mining or other than an occupation found to

be particularly hazardous or detrimental to the health of

children under the age of sixteen;

(2) as an actor or performer in motion

picture, theatrical, radio or television productions; or

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(3) to sell or deliver newspapers, with the

parent's consent, during the school term or during vacation

and the child is attending school as required by law and does

not engage in such employment except at times when the

child's presence is not required at school.

B. The employer of a child employed pursuant to

Subsection A of this section is not required to obtain and

preserve a work permit in accordance with Section 50-6-9 NMSA

1978 for that child."

Section 3. A new section of Chapter 50, Article 6 NMSA

1978 is enacted to read:

"CHILDREN WORKING IN THE PERFORMING ARTS.--

A. For the purposes of this section, a "performer"

means a person employed to act or otherwise participate in

the performing arts, including motion picture, theatrical,

radio or television products.

B. A performer under eighteen years of age is

considered a child subject to the Child Labor Act unless:

(1) the performer has satisfied the

compulsory education laws of the state;

(2) the performer is married;

(3) the performer is a member of the armed

forces; or

(4) the performer is legally emancipated.

C. A child may not begin work earlier than 5:00

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a.m. and the workday must end no later than 10:00 p.m. on

evenings preceding school days and 12:00 a.m. on mornings of

nonschool days.

D. A child-performer's working hours, including

school time, are limited as follows:

(1) a child under the age of six shall not

be employed or permitted to labor for more than six hours in

one day;

(2) a child over the age of six and under

the age of nine shall not be employed or permitted to labor

for more than eight hours in one day;

(3) a child over the age of nine and under

the age of sixteen shall not be employed or permitted to

labor for more than nine hours in one day; and

(4) a child over the age of sixteen and

under the age of eighteen shall not be employed or permitted

to labor for more than ten hours in one day.

E. If a child engages in employment on school

days, a teacher with credentials appropriate to the level of

education needed shall be provided by the employer.

F. The labor department shall promulgate rules for

employers in the performing arts, including education and

safety requirements."

Section 4. Section 50-6-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1925,

Chapter 79, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:

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"50-6-1. CHILDREN UNDER FOURTEEN--EMPLOYMENT

PROHIBITED.--No child under fourteen years of age shall be

employed or permitted to labor at any gainful occupation

unless otherwise provided for in the Child Labor Act."

Section 5. Section 50-6-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1925,

Chapter 79, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:

"50-6-2. WORK PERMIT FOR CHILDREN FOURTEEN TO

SIXTEEN.--A child over the age of fourteen years and under

the age of sixteen years shall not be employed or permitted

to labor at any gainful occupation without procuring and

filing a work permit unless otherwise provided for in the

Child Labor Act."

Section 6. Section 50-6-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1925,

Chapter 79, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:

"50-6-3. MAXIMUM HOURS FOR CHILDREN FOURTEEN TO

SIXTEEN.--

A. Children over the age of fourteen and under the

age of sixteen years shall not be employed or permitted to

labor at any gainful occupation for more than forty hours in

any one week nor more than eight hours in any one day when

school is not in session unless otherwise provided for in the

Child Labor Act.

B. Children over the age of fourteen or under the

age of sixteen shall not be employed unless otherwise

provided for in the Child Labor Act:

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(1) before 7:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m.

during the calendar school year;

(2) before 7:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m.

outside of the calendar school year;

(3) during school hours, except as provided

for in work experience and career exploration programs;

(4) more than three hours per day during

school days; or

(5) more than eighteen hours per week during

school weeks."

Section 7. Section 50-6-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1925,

Chapter 79, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:

"50-6-4. PROHIBITED OCCUPATIONS FOR CHILDREN UNDER

SIXTEEN--EXCEPTIONS.--

A. A child under the age of sixteen years shall

not be employed or permitted to labor at any of the following

occupations or in any of the following positions:

(1) on or around belted machines while in

motion;

(2) on or around power-driven woodworking

machines used for cutting, shaping, forming, surfacing,

nailing, stapling, wire stitching, fastening or otherwise

assembling, processing or printing wood or veneer;

(3) on or around power-driven hoisting

apparatus with the exception that this section shall not

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prohibit the operation of an automatic elevator that is

controlled by pushbuttons making leveling, holding, opening

and closing of the car and hoistway doors entirely automatic;

(4) in or about plants, establishments or

jobs using, manufacturing or storing explosives or articles

containing explosive components;

(5) electronics jobs where the child is

exposed to electrical hazards;

(6) in or about any establishment where malt

or alcoholic beverages are manufactured, packed, wrapped or

bottled;

(7) municipal firefighting whether using

volunteers or paid employees;

(8) manufacture of goods for immoral

purposes;

(9) in any employment dangerous to lives and

limbs or injurious to the health or morals of children under

the age of sixteen years; or

(10) soliciting door-to-door for other than

a nonprofit organization or in other activities approved by

the parent or guardian.

B. The provisions of this section do not apply to:

(1) children engaged in working with

equipment in any school or place where cooperative education

or science is taught while under supervision of an

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instructor;

(2) apprentices while under the supervision

of a journeyman in a certified apprenticeship program; or

(3) children employed in a film or

television production, where the set may be considered

physically hazardous or special effects are used; provided

that a New Mexico-certified trainer or technician accredited

in a United States department of labor occupational safety

and health administration-certified safety program specific

to the film or television industry is present at all times

that the child is exposed to the potentially hazardous

condition.

C. Additional hazardous occupations not

specifically listed in this section shall be determined by

the state child labor inspector following consultation with

the employer who wishes to employ minors over the age of

fourteen years and under sixteen years of age."

Section 8. Section 50-6-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1925,

Chapter 79, Section 8, as amended) is amended to read:

"50-6-7. WORK PERMIT--ISSUANCE--AUTHORIZED OFFICIALS--

APPLICATION--CONTENTS--PROOF--COPIES--MAXIMUM TERM.--

A. Work permits shall be issued only by the school

superintendents, school principals, designated issuing school

officers or the director of the labor and industrial division

of the labor department or the director's designee.

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B. A work permit shall not be issued to a child

until satisfactory proof has been furnished that the work in

which the child is to engage is not dangerous to the child or

injurious to the child's health or morals.

C. The application for the work permit shall show

that the work to be performed would not result in injury to

the health, morals or mental development of the child.

Satisfactory proof of the age of the child at the date of the

application shall be furnished. Any application for the

employment of children at any gainful occupation during the

session hours of the school of the district in which the

child resides shall set forth, in addition to the foregoing,

the necessity to the family or the dependents of the child or

for the child's own support of the income to be derived from

the employment or labor.

D. Whenever the person authorized to issue the

work permit is satisfied that the provisions of this section

have been complied with, the person shall issue to the child

a work permit, keeping one copy on file and sending one copy

of the permit to the labor and industrial division of the

labor department.

E. No work permit shall be in force without

renewal for a longer period than one year from the date of

issuance."

Section 9. Section 50-6-8 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1925,

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Chapter 79, Section 9, as amended) is amended to read:

"50-6-8. RENEWAL OF WORK PERMITS.--The officer

authorized to issue work permits may renew a work permit at

the expiration date thereof for a period not exceeding one

year upon a satisfactory showing upon the part of the child,

the child's parent, guardian or custodian that the provisions

of the Child Labor Act are being complied with and that the

child is in good health. The extension of time shall be made

by the officer writing upon the certificate the following

words: "this work permit is extended for a period of ......

days from this date" and by the officer signing the

certificate."

Section 10. Section 50-6-9 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1925,

Chapter 79, Section 10, as amended) is amended to read:

"50-6-9. EMPLOYER'S RECORDS--FORM OF PERMITS.--Whenever

any child is employed or permitted to labor at any gainful

occupation permitted by the laws of this state, the employer

of the child shall preserve on file the work permit of the

child and shall keep posted in a conspicuous place about the

premises where the child is employed a list of all children

there at work by virtue of work permits. The form for all

work permits shall be prepared by and shall contain such

information concerning the identity of the child as may be

prescribed by the labor and industrial division of the labor

department."

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Section 11. Section 50-6-10 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1925,

Chapter 79, Section 11, as amended) is amended to read:

"50-6-10. INSPECTION OF WORK PERMITS, RECORDS AND

PREMISES BY THE LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL DIVISION OF THE LABOR

DEPARTMENT.--All work permits and records and the premises

where children are employed are subject to inspection by

representatives of the labor and industrial division of the

labor department. The director of the division may, for

cause, cancel a work permit with the concurrence of the

officer issuing the permit but, in case they disagree, the

district court may cancel the permit on complaint setting

forth the grounds therefor under the provisions of the Child

Labor Act."

Section 12. Section 50-6-12 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1925,

Chapter 79, Section 13, as amended) is amended to read:

"50-6-12. PENALTIES.--

A. A person who employs a child, or who is the

parent, guardian or custodian of a child, and who permits

that child to be employed in violation of any of the

provisions of the Child Labor Act is guilty of a petty

misdemeanor. Each violation of the Child Labor Act

constitutes a separate offense. A second or subsequent

conviction of an employer, parent, guardian or custodian for

violation of the Child Labor Act is a misdemeanor.

B. The director of the labor and industrial

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division of the labor department may report a violation of

the Child Labor Act to the local district attorney, who may

prosecute the alleged violator."

Section 13. Section 50-6-13 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1925,

Chapter 79, Section 14) is amended to read:

"50-6-13. DISTRICT COURT JURISDICTION.--The district

courts are hereby given original jurisdiction in all cases of

violations of the provisions of the Child Labor Act."

Section 14. Section 50-6-14 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1925,

Chapter 79, Section 15, as amended) is amended to read:

"50-6-14. STATE CHILD LABOR INSPECTOR--APPOINTMENT--

DIRECTION--QUALIFICATIONS.--There shall be a "state child

labor inspector", appointed by and subject to the director of

the labor and industrial division of the labor department.

The inspector must be qualified by special training and

experience for this work and must pass a satisfactory

examination given by the director of the labor and industrial

division of the labor department."

Section 15. A new section of the Child Labor Act is

enacted to read:

"CHILDREN EMPLOYED IN THE PERFORMING ARTS--TRUST

ACCOUNT--REQUIREMENTS.--

A. Whenever a child is employed in the performing

arts, the child's parent, guardian or trustee shall establish

a trust account in the child's state of residence for the

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benefit of the child within seven business days after the

child's employment contract is signed, and the employer shall

deposit fifteen percent of the child's gross earnings

directly into the child's trust account.

B. The money placed in trust shall not be accessed

until the child is eighteen years of age or becomes legally

emancipated, unless otherwise ordered by the district court.

C. The parent, guardian or trustee shall provide

the child's employer with a trustee statement within fifteen

days after the start of employment. Upon the presentation of

the trustee statement, the employer shall provide the parent,

guardian or trustee with a written acknowledgment of receipt

of the statement.

D. If the parent, guardian or trustee fails to

provide the child's employer with a trustee statement within

ninety days after the start of employment, the child's

employer shall refer the matter to the district court and a

trustee shall be appointed for the child.

E. The child's employer shall deposit fifteen

percent of the child's gross earnings into the child's trust

account within fifteen business days of services rendered.

If the account is not established, the child's employer shall

withhold fifteen percent until a trust account is established

for the child's benefit.

F. Once the child's employer deposits fifteen

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percent of the child's gross earnings in trust, the child's

employer shall have no further obligation or duty to monitor

the funds.

G. The trustee shall be the only individual with

an obligation to monitor and account for the funds, in

compliance with state law.

H. The district court shall have continuing

jurisdiction over the trust and may at any time, upon

petition of the parent, guardian, trustee or child, order

that the trust be terminated or amended for good cause. An

order amending or terminating the trust shall be made only

after reasonable notice and the opportunity for all parties

to appear and be heard have been given.

I. This section applies only to contracts in an

amount equal to or greater than one thousand dollars ($1,000)

in gross earnings.

J. For the purposes of this section, "gross

earnings" means the total compensation payable to the child

under the contract or, if the child's services are being

rendered through a third party, the compensation payable to

that third party for the services of the child."

Section 16. REPEAL.--Sections 50-6-6, 50-6-15 and

50-6-16 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1925, Chapter 79, Section 7,

Laws 1963, Chapter 175, Section 4 and Laws 1959, Chapter 298,

Section 1, as amended) are repealed.

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