Responsibilities

• The Principal Investigator, UAB faculty-in-charge and/or Department Head/Director must submit a Request for Clearance/Consent Form for minors seeking employment in any laboratory, patient care or potentially hazardous area. The request must be approved by UAB Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S), before it is forwarded to UAB Human Resources for appointment processing (see Approval Process tab).
• The Principal Investigator, UAB faculty in charge and/or the Department Head/Director shall be responsible for ensuring that minor employees under their direction have had appropriate immunizations, safety-related training, issued necessary personal protective equipment and that associated documentation has been completed.
• Documentation should be provided showing that the minor’s proposed work/potential exposure at UAB and the minor’s medical history has been reviewed by his/her personal physician. A statement indicating this, to include any work restrictions, must be signed by the physician on his/her office letterhead and provided to the UAB OH&S Employee Health Program, 933 S 19th St, Suite 445, Birmingham, AL 35294.
• If the minor will not work in a lab or potentially hazardous area, lab clearance is not required. However, you must complete the top section of the Request for Clearance/Consent and submit the form with the ACT and other attachments to HR Records Administration & Compliance. Be sure to add a note in the comment section of the ACT document: “minor will work in a non-hazardous area”.
• The Principal Investigator, UAB faculty and/or Department Head/Director in charge shall be responsible for ensuring that employees working with minors have reviewed the information on the UAB Youth Protection website.
• The following are applicable to minors employed in UAB laboratories or other hazardous areas:
• Minors under 16 years of age may not be employed in any capacity at UAB (See HR Policy 125: Employment of Minors).
• Minors may not be employed in any of the 17 FLSA prohibited occupations, such as driving a motor vehicle, operating power-driven machines, or roofing operations. For a complete listing of prohibited occupations visit U.S. Department of Labor website.
• No minor may participate in research related activities
• Minors may not work with regulated amounts of radioactive materials or ionizing radiation. See the UAB Radiation Safety Procedures Manual or contact UAB Radiation Safety for additional information on exempt quantities and exempt concentrations.
• No minor may participate in activities where there is potential exposure to reactive or highly energetic material, carcinogens, reproductive toxins, or highly toxic agents.
• Minors must be instructed on occupant life safety such as familiarity with the building, normal egress routes, emergency egress routes, changes in egress due to construction or maintenance operations, fire safety procedures and emergency preparedness.
• The minor must be informed of potential hazards in the lab area and receive documented training in safe laboratory procedures, including, but not limited to, emergency procedures.
• The parent or guardian must acknowledge in writing that they have been informed of the minor’s participation in a program where hazardous material may be present or hazardous activities may take place and consent to such participation.
• Minors with approval to enter a laboratory or other restricted area must be directly supervised by a responsible employee of that area at all times.
• The Supervisor/Principal Investigator may place additional restrictions on the presence of minors in their work area

Compliance with the above is monitored through periodic OH&S audits. Appeals can be made to the Assistant Vice President, Occupational Health and Safety, CH19, Room 445 or 934-2487. Please contact UAB Talent Acquisiton at 205-934-4030 for questions about this process.

The policy which addresses non-compensated minors (volunteers/visitors) falls under the scope of the Minors in Laboratories and Animal Facilities Policy. For more information, contact the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, AB 720 or 205-934-4224.

Employing Minors Approval Process

It is the responsibility of the PI/Faculty Member/Dept Head/Director/Appointing Department to obtain approval from OH&S before submitting the approved request for clearance form along with documents below to HR Records Administration & Compliance.

The following documents must be submitted to UAB Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) for approval. Request must be submitted to OH&S two weeks prior to hire date for timely processing.

• Completed Request for Clearance/Consent for Employing Minors Form
• Statement from minor’s physician regarding minor’s medical history

The following documents must be submitted to HR Records Administration & Compliance for appointment processing. If your department has an internal ACT approval process (approval through chairman’s or dean’s office, etc.), please adhere to your department’s internal approval process and follow up with your appropriate department contact to ensure ACT documentation is routed to HR Records Administration & Compliance for final approval.

• Student/Irregular Application (Irregular and student employees are not eligible for any UAB benefits or privileges of employment.)
• I-9
• Approved Request for Clearance/Consent Form
• ACT Document
• For non-UAB students, use assignment category = 04 (irregular), Title = Non-UAB Student Assistant
• For UAB students, use assignment category = 06 (student), Title = Student Assistant (Irregular and student employees are not eligible for any UAB benefits or privileges of employment)

Employing Minors Approval Process: Text Equivalent

The approval process to employ a minor in UAB labs or other hazardous areas is as follows:

Step 1

• The Department completes the Request for Clearance/Consent Form.
• The Department ensures minor/parent has statement from minor’s physician sent to UAB Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) Employee Health Program.
• The Department submits Request for Clearance/Consent Form to OH&S

Step 2

• OH&S approves Request for Clearance/Consent Form.
• OH&S submits approved Request for Clearance/Consent Form to originating department.

Step 3

• The Department submits ACT, I-9, application and approved Request for Clearance/Consent Form to HR Records Administration & Compliance.

Step 4

• HR Records Administration & Compliance approves ACT Hire Document.

Potential Hazard Information Table

This table is to be used as reference for the Consent for a Minor in Laboratories or Animal Facilities Form and the Request for Clearance/Consent for Employing Minors Form.