2025 Code of Georgia
Title 39 - Minors (Chs. 1 — 6)
Chapter 2 - Regulation of Employment of Minors (§§ 39-2-1 — 39-2-21)
§ 39-2-9. Employment of minors under 12 years of age
No minor under 12 years of age shall be employed or permitted to work in any gainful occupation at any time, provided that this Code section shall not be construed to apply to employment of a minor in agriculture, domestic service in private homes, or any specific employment permitted by this chapter or to employment by a parent or a person standing in the place of a parent.
History
Ga. L. 1925, p. 291, § 1; Code 1933, § 54-301; Ga. L. 1946, p. 67, § 1; Ga. L. 1971, p. 638, § 1; Ga. L. 1981, p. 792, § 1.
Annotations
Opinion Notes
OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Employment or supervision by parents. —Minor under the age of 12 years may be employed in a business owned and operated by the minor’s parent. 1988 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 88-7.
Minor under the age of 12 years could not legally be employed under the parent-employer provision when the parent would be the child’s supervisor but would not be his employer. 1988 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 88-7.
Improper issuance of employment certificate to minor. —Inasmuch as the provisions of Ga. L. 1946, p. 67, § 4 (see O.C.G.A. § 39-2-6) do not provide an exception to the general provisions of Ga. L. 1971, p. 638, § 1 (see O.C.G.A. § 39-2-9), the restrictions of that section prohibiting employment of children under 14 years of age “in any gainful occupation at any time” would apply to children selling or delivering newspapers; therefore, it would be improper to issue an employment certificate to allow children under 14 years of age to sell or deliver newspapers. 1971 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 71-15.
Research References & Practice Aids
Law reviews.For article recommending more consistency in age requirements of laws pertaining to the welfare of minors, see 6 Ga. St. B.J. 189 (1969).
RESEARCH REFERENCES C.J.S.43 C.J.S., Infants, § 203 et seq. 67A C.J.S., Parent and Child, § 282.
ALR.Right of parent who consents to or acquiesces in employment of child under statutory age to recover for latter’s injury or death while in such employment, 40 A.L.R. 1206.
Hierarchy Notes:O.C.G.A. Title 39
O.C.G.A. Title 39, Ch. 2
