17 federal HO orders bar workers under 18 from dangerous occupations — regardless of hours.
The federal Department of Labor maintains 17 hazardous occupation orders (HO-1 through HO-17) that prohibit workers under 18 from specific dangerous jobs. Texas adopts these by reference. The list includes operating power machinery, working at height, demolition, mining, certain manufacturing, and roofing. Hazardous-occupation violations in Texas are Class A misdemeanors with penalties up to $10,000 per worker per violation.
Hazardous Occupation Role Gating
Tags roles as containing or not containing hazardous-occupation elements. Workers under 18 cannot accept shifts in HO-tagged roles regardless of hours, breaks, or other compliance factors.
What the rule does when a minor encounters an HO-tagged shift.
The hero card configuration: a single Block on hazardous-occupation roles for workers under 18.
When a worker under 18 attempts to accept a shift for a role tagged with a federal HO (e.g., HO-7 Power-Driven Bakery Machines, HO-12 Power-Driven Hoisting Apparatus), the action is blocked. "Cannot accept: this role contains hazardous occupations restricted for workers under 18."
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Federal list, Texas adoption, no exceptions for hours.
The hazardous occupation rule is a categorical bar — it doesn't matter whether the work is part-time, summer-only, or under parental supervision. Workers under 18 cannot perform HO-listed work, period. Texas Labor Code Chapter 51 adopts the federal list by reference.
The 17 hazardous occupation orders
HO-1 (explosives), HO-2 (motor vehicle driving), HO-3 (coal mining), HO-4 (logging and sawmilling), HO-5 (power-driven woodworking), HO-6 (radioactive substances), HO-7 (power-driven hoisting apparatus), HO-8 (power-driven metal-forming machines), HO-9 (mining other than coal), HO-10 (slaughtering and meat-packing), HO-11 (power-driven bakery machines), HO-12 (power-driven balers/compactors/paper-products machines), HO-13 (manufacturing brick/tile/products), HO-14 (power-driven circular saws/band saws/guillotine shears), HO-15 (wrecking/demolition/shipbreaking), HO-16 (roofing operations), HO-17 (excavation operations).
Categorical, no hours exception
Unlike the hour cap rules that depend on age tier and week type, the HO rule is categorical. No worker under 18 can perform HO-listed work, regardless of how few hours, regardless of supervision, regardless of training. The rule is a hard bar.
Teambridge tags roles, gates acceptance, no override.
HO compliance is a role-level gate, not a per-shift one. Once a role is tagged with HO content, no worker under 18 can accept shifts in that role.
Each role evaluated against the 17 HOs.
When roles are configured, each is reviewed against the federal HO list. Roles involving listed work (e.g., 'forklift operator' = HO-7, 'roofer' = HO-16) are tagged with the applicable HOs.
Age + role HO tags determine eligibility.
When a minor (under 18) tries to accept any shift, Teambridge checks both the role's HO tags and any apprenticeship status the worker holds. Without a valid apprenticeship exemption, HO-tagged roles are blocked.
Exemption tracking for student-learners.
Workers 16-17 in registered DOL apprenticeships get an apprenticeship tag with the specific HOs covered. The tag enables limited work in covered HOs (e.g., HO-7 power-driven hoisting) under apprentice-program supervision.
Every HO-relevant decision logged.
When a minor is blocked from a shift due to HO restrictions, the decision logs with the worker, role, HO tag, and timestamp. Defensible against TWC and DOL audits.
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