ADMINISTRATION OF THE EMPLOYMENT-CERTIFI CATE SYSTEM IN NEW YORK. INTRODUCTION. The child-labor and employment-certificate laws of New York State differ in many important respects from those of Connecticut, described in the first report of this series. In both States 14 years is the minimum age and children from 14 to 16 must secure certificates before they can be employed legally; but in Connecticut the law is State wide in its application, whereas in New York various sections are in force in cities and villages of different sizes. In Connecticut the list of places of employment covered by the law includes "mechanical" establishments, and this term is held to bring under its provisions practically all child laborers except newsboys and children employed in agricultural pursuits and in domestic service.1 In New York, on the other hand, different lists of places of employment to which the law applies are given for cities and villages of different sizes, but no list includes any general term which can be held to cover occupations not specifically mentioned.2 In New York State employment certificates issued by local health authorities must be obtained by children from 14 to 16 years of age as a condition of employment: A. At any time, 1. In any place in the State in Factories.3 Mercantile establishments. Business offices. Telegraph offices. Restaurants. Hotels. Apartment houses. Distribution or transmission of merchandise or messages.* 1 U. S. Children's Bureau. Employment Certificate System, Connecticut. Bureau publication No. 12, p. 8. The exact application of the minimum-age and employment and school-record certificate provisions of the New York laws is discussed in the Appendix, pp. 111 to 115. * Labor Law, sec. 70; Education Law, sec. 626. For the text of these sections see pp. 120, 126. Education Law, sec. 626. Labor Law, sec. 162, requires certificates only in places of 3,000 inhabitants or more in mercantile establishments, etc. For the text of these sections see pp. 126, 124. A. At any time-Continued. 2. In cities and villages having a population of 3,000 or more in Theaters.1 Places of amusement. Bowling alleys. Barber shops. Shoe-polishing establishments. Distribution or transmission of articles other than merchandise or messages. Distribution or sale of articles.2 3. In first and second class cities in Any other occupation.3 B. During school hours, 1. In places, other than first and second class cities, having a population of 5,000 or more in Any other occupation.* The New York law also requires children from 14 to 16 years of age to obtain "school-record certificates" from local school authorities as a condition of employment at any time, in any place, and in any occupation where employment certificates are not required." To obtain a school-record certificate a child is not required to produce the same evidence of age or to meet the same physical requirements as to obtain an employment certificate. For an employment certificate the labor law specifies carefully the required evidence of whereas for a school-record certificate the education law does not state what kind of evidence is acceptable, but merely requires that the child shall be over 14 and that the record shall contain the date of his birth "as shown on the school record." A physical examination is required, as will be seen, for an employment certificate but not for a school-record certificate. The educational requirements are the same for both. In practice, as children are required frequently, if not generally, to secure employment certificates before having their names taken from the school registers, the school-record certificate is of little importance except as a prerequisite to an employment certificate. For this reason no special attention is given in this study to the school-record certificate as distinguished from the school record discussed under "Educational requirements." 6 1 Children taking speaking parts in theatrical performances are not affected by this provision but are covered by Penal Law, ch. 40, art. 44, sec. 485 as amended by 1916, ch. 278. 2 Labor Law, sec. 162. For the text of this section see p. 124. Education Law, sec. 626. Education Law, sec. 621. For the text of this section see p. 126. For the text of this section see p. 125. For definition of cities of different classes, and of villages and towns, see footnote 7, p. 112. Education Law, secs. 624 and 626. For the text of these sections see pp. 125, 126. Education Law, sec. 630, and Labor Law, secs. 73 and 165. For the text of these sections see pp. 127, 122, 124. The requirements for obtaining certificates are notably higher in New York than in Connecticut. The evidence of age to be produced is carefully specified in the law instead of being left to the discretion of the administrative authorities as in Connecticut. The educational standard is completion of the sixth1 instead of the fifth grade, as is practically the requirement in Connecticut. But most important of all, every child from 14 to 16 years of age who applies for a certificate in New York is required by law to undergo a physical examination, whereas in Connecticut only children who appear physically unfit are subjected to any physical test. In New York, as in Connecticut, the mere possession of a certificate to work does not exempt a child from school attendance; he must be actually at work. To be exempt from school attendance in New York, indeed, a child 14 to 16 years of age not only must hold an employment or school-record certificate but must be "regularly and lawfully" engaged in some "useful employment or service." This does not necessarily mean that the child must be engaged in remunerative work. Either an employment certificate or a school-record certificate acts as a permit to stay out of school to engage in "any useful employment or service," for example, to help in the housework or in the care of the baby at home. The parent is responsible for the school attendance not only of a child who has no certificate but also of a child who, though he has a certificate, is not "regularly engaged in any useful employment." One fundamental difference, however, is to be noted between the employment-certificate system of Connecticut and that of New York. In Connecticut the certificate must be delivered by the issuing officer to the employer; the employer must notify the issuing office of both the commencement and the termination of the child's employment; and the child must secure a new certificate for each separate employer. In New York, on the other hand, on the application of the parent or guardian and after fulfillment of the requirements, the employment certificate is given to the individual child; it is regarded as his property and authorizes any employer to employ him subject to the other regulations of the law. In addition to the date and place of birth of the child and a statement to the effect that the required papers have been duly examined, approved, and filed, and that the child has appeared before the issuing officer and been examined, it must contain, for the purpose of identification, the child's signature and a description consisting of the color of his 1 After Feb. 1, 1917, the standard for children under 15 will be completion of the eighth grade. Acts of 1916, ch. 465. For the text of this act see pp. 132-133. *Education Law, secs. 621 and 624. For the text of these sections see pp. 125, 126. "The parent has a copy of the certificate which the child can use temporarily, but this copy is clearly marked "For parent; not good for employer longer than one week." U. S. Children's Bureau. Employment Certificate System, Connecticut. Bureau publication No. 12, p. 16. |