Child labor — Iowa

Iowa and federal law regulate the employment of minors under age 18 by restricting the occupations in which they can work and the number of hours that they can work in a given day.  Iowa Code Chapter 92 covers all employers in the State of Iowa. Federal law, specifically the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), applies only to:

• employers covered for federal minimum wage
• employers who have an annual gross volume of sale made or business done of $500,000 or more
• employers operating hospitals, institutions of care for the physically or mentally ill, disabled or aged
• employers operating a school, including a preschool, secondary or institution of higher learning
• public agencies
• employers with minor employees engaged in interstate commerce or the production of goods for interstate commerce.

If federal and Iowa law ever conflict, the employer must obey the stricter regulation of the two. Iowa law is generally less restrictive than federal law in the area of child labor, so an employer will generally be guided by the federal statute. Exceptions to this rule are noted below.

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