As Introduced

136th General Assembly

Regular Session H. B. No. 546

2025-2026

A BILL

To amend sections 3331.01, 3331.12, 4109.01, 4109.03, 4109.05, 4109.06, and 4109.08 and to enact sections 4109.25, 4109.26, 4109.27, 4109.28, and 4109.29 of the Revised Code to address minors working as performers in the entertainment industry.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That sections 3331.01, 3331.12, 4109.01, 4109.03, 4109.05, 4109.06, and 4109.08 be amended and sections 4109.25, 4109.26, 4109.27, 4109.28, and 4109.29 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 3331.01. (A) As used in this chapter:

(1) "Superintendent" or "superintendent of schools" of a school district means the person employed as the superintendent or that person's designee.

(2) "Chief administrative officer" means the chief administrative officer of a nonpublic or community school or that person's designee.

(B)(1) Except as provided in division (B)(2) of this section, an age and schooling certificate may be issued only by the superintendent of the city, local, joint vocational, or exempted village school district in which the child in whose name such certificate is issued resides or by the chief administrative officer of the nonpublic or community school the child attends, and, except as provided in division (B)(3) of this section, only upon satisfactory proof that the child to whom the certificate is issued is at least fourteen years of age.

(2) A child who resides in this state shall apply for an age and schooling certificate to the superintendent of the school district in which the child resides, or to the chief administrative officer of the school that the child attends. Residents of other states who work in Ohio shall apply to the superintendent of the school district in which the place of employment is located, as a condition of employment or service.

(3) A child under fourteen years of age may be issued an age and schooling certificate if both of the following apply:

(a) The employment contemplated by the child is as a minor performer as defined in section 4109.01 of the Revised Code.

(b) The minor is of compulsory school age as described in section 3321.01 of the Revised Code.

(C) Any such age and schooling certificate may be issued only upon satisfactory proof that the employment contemplated by the child is not prohibited by any law regulating the employment of such children. Section 4113.08 of the Revised Code does not apply to such employer in respect to such child while engaged in an employment legal for a child of the age stated therein.

(D) Age and schooling certificate forms shall be approved by the department of education and workforce, including forms submitted electronically. Forms shall not display the social security number of the child. Except as otherwise provided in this section, every application for an age and schooling certificate must be signed in the presence of the officer issuing it by the child in whose name it is issued.

(E) A child shall furnish the superintendent or chief administrative officer all information required by this chapter in support of the issuance of a certificate.

(F) On and after September 1, 2002, each superintendent and chief administrative officer who issues an age and schooling certificate shall file electronically the certificate with the director of commerce in accordance with rules adopted by the director of administrative services pursuant to section 1306.21 of the Revised Code. On and after September 1, 2002, only electronically filed certificates are valid to satisfy the requirements of Chapter 4109. of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3331.12. When any officer charged with the enforcement of child labor laws discovers any child who in the officer's judgment is under fourteen years of age employed by a person who is not the parent or guardian of such child or employed other than as a minor performer as defined in section 4109.01 of the Revised Code, the officer may cause such child to discontinue employment until satisfactory proof of lawful age is furnished.

Sec. 4109.01. As used in this chapter:

(A) "Compulsory school age" has the same meaning as in section 3321.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) "Employ" means to permit or suffer to work.

~~(B)~~ (C) "Employer" means the state, its political subdivisions, and every person who employs any individual.

~~(C)~~ (D) "Enforcement official" means the director of commerce or the director's authorized representative, the director of education and workforce or the director's authorized representative, any school attendance officer, any probation officer, the director of health or the director of health's authorized representative, and any representative of a local department of health.

~~(D)~~ (E) "Minor" means any person less than eighteen years of age.

~~(E)~~ (F) "Minor performer" means any minor employed as a performer in a motion picture, theatrical, radio, or television production.

(G) "Seasonal amusement or recreational establishment" means both of the following:

(1) An amusement or recreational establishment that does not operate for more than seven months in any calendar year;

(2) An amusement or recreational establishment whose average receipts for any six months during the preceding calendar year were not more than thirty-three and one-third per cent of its average receipts for the other six months of that calendar year.

Sec. 4109.03. (A) No employer, except as provided in division (C) of this section, shall employ a minor before thoroughly reviewing the minor's age and schooling certificate, required by law, or fail to give notice to the superintendent of schools or chief administrative officer who issued such certificate of the nonuse of the certificate within five working days from such minor's withdrawal or dismissal from the employer's service, or continue to employ a minor after the minor's age and schooling certificate is void~~, or~~ .

(B) No employer shall refuse to permit an enforcement official to observe the conditions under which minors are employed, or to make reasonable inquiry of minors or persons supposed by such official to be under eighteen in regard to matters pertaining to their age, employment, or schooling.

(C) Division (A) of this section does not apply to an employer that, pursuant to section 4109.28 of the Revised Code, employs or proposes to employ a minor performer who is not of compulsory school age.

Sec. 4109.05. (A) The director of commerce, after consultation with the director of health, shall adopt rules, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, prohibiting the employment of minors in occupations which are hazardous or detrimental to the health and well-being of minors.

In adopting the rules, the director of commerce shall consider the orders issued pursuant to the "Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938," 52 Stat. 1060, 29 U.S.C. 201, as amended.

The director of commerce shall not adopt any rule that prohibits a minor who is sixteen or seventeen years of age and who is employed by an employer under the manufacturing and construction mentorship program created in section 4109.22 of the Revised Code from being employed in a construction occupation or manufacturing occupation if the orders issued pursuant to the "Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938," 29 U.S.C. 201, et seq., permit the employment of the minor in the construction occupation or manufacturing occupation. As used in this division, "construction occupation" and "manufacturing occupation" have the same meanings as in section 4109.22 of the Revised Code.

(B) No minor, except as provided in division (C) of this section, may be employed in any occupation found hazardous or detrimental to the health and well-being of minors under the rules adopted pursuant to division (A) of this section.

(C) Division (B) of this section does not apply to a minor performer who, in the course of the minor performer's employment, is exposed to a potentially hazardous condition if a trainer or technician accredited through a safety program specific to the film or television industry certified by the occupational safety and health administration of the United States department of labor is present at all times that the minor performer is exposed to the potentially hazardous condition.

Sec. 4109.06. (A) This chapter does not apply to the following:

(1) Minors who are students working on any properly guarded machines in the manual training department of any school when the work is performed under the personal supervision of an instructor;

(2) Students participating in a career-technical or STEM program approved by the Ohio department of education and workforce or students participating in any eligible classes through the college credit plus program established under Chapter 3365. of the Revised Code that include a state-recognized pre-apprenticeship program that imparts the skills and knowledge needed for successful participation in a registered apprenticeship occupation course;

(3) A minor participating in a play, pageant, or concert produced by an outdoor historical drama corporation, a professional traveling theatrical production, a professional concert tour, or a personal appearance tour as a professional motion picture star, or as an actor or performer in motion pictures or in radio or television productions in accordance with the rules adopted pursuant to division (A) of section 4109.05 of the Revised Code;

~~(4)~~ The participation, without remuneration of a minor and with the consent of a parent or guardian, in a performance given by a church, school, or academy, or at a concert or entertainment given solely for charitable purposes, or by a charitable or religious institution;

~~(5)~~ (4) Minors who are employed by their parents in occupations other than occupations prohibited by rule adopted under this chapter;

~~(6)~~ (5) Minors engaged in the delivery of newspapers to the consumer;

~~(7)~~ (6) Minors who have received a high school diploma or a certificate of attendance from an accredited secondary school or a certificate of high school equivalence;

~~(8)~~ (7) Minors who are currently heads of households or are parents contributing to the support of their children;

~~(9)~~ (8) Minors engaged in lawn mowing, snow shoveling, and other related employment;

~~(10)~~ (9) Minors employed in agricultural employment in connection with farms operated by their parents, grandparents, or guardians where they are members of the guardians' household. Minors are not exempt from this chapter if they reside in agricultural labor camps as defined in section 3733.41 of the Revised Code;

~~(11)~~ (10) Students participating in a program to serve as precinct officers as authorized by section 3501.22 of the Revised Code.

(B) Sections 4109.02, 4109.08, 4109.09, and 4109.11 of the Revised Code do not apply to the following:

(1) Minors who work in a sheltered workshop operated by a county board of developmental disabilities;

(2) Minors performing services for a nonprofit organization where the minor receives no compensation, except for any expenses incurred by the minor or except for meals provided to the minor;

(3) Minors who are employed in agricultural employment and who do not reside in agricultural labor camps.

(C) Division (D) of section 4109.07 of the Revised Code does not apply to minors who have their employment hours established as follows:

(1) A minor adjudicated to be an unruly child or delinquent child who, as a result of the adjudication, is placed on probation may either file a petition in the juvenile court in whose jurisdiction the minor resides, or apply to the superintendent or to the chief administrative officer who issued the minor's age and schooling certificate pursuant to section 3331.01 of the Revised Code, alleging the restrictions on the hours of employment described in division (D) of section 4109.07 of the Revised Code will cause a substantial hardship or are not in the minor's best interests. Upon receipt of a petition or application, the court, the superintendent, or the chief administrative officer, as appropriate, shall consult with the person required to supervise the minor on probation. If after that consultation, the court, the superintendent, or the chief administrative officer finds the minor has failed to show the restrictions will result in a substantial hardship or that the restrictions are not in the minor's best interests, the court, the superintendent, or the chief administrative officer shall uphold the restrictions. If after that consultation, the court, the superintendent, or the chief administrative officer finds the minor has shown the restricted hours will cause a substantial hardship or are not in the minor's best interests, the court, the superintendent, or the chief administrative officer shall establish differing hours of employment for the minor and notify the minor and the minor's employer of those hours, which shall be binding in lieu of the restrictions on the hours of employment described in division (D) of section 4109.07 of the Revised Code.

(2) Any minor to whom division (C)(1) of this section does not apply may either file a petition in the juvenile court in whose jurisdiction the person resides, or apply to the superintendent or to the chief administrative officer who issued the minor's age and schooling certificate pursuant to section 3331.01 of the Revised Code, alleging the restrictions on the hours of employment described in division (D) of section 4109.07 of the Revised Code will cause a substantial hardship or are not in the minor's best interests.

If, as a result of a petition or application, the court, the superintendent, or the chief administrative officer, as appropriate, finds the minor has failed to show such restrictions will result in a substantial hardship or that the restrictions are not in the minor's best interests, the court, the superintendent, or the chief administrative officer shall uphold the restrictions. If the court, the superintendent, or the chief administrative officer finds the minor has shown the restricted hours will cause a substantial hardship or are not in the minor's best interests, the court, the superintendent, or the chief administrative officer shall establish the hours of employment for the minor and shall notify the minor and the minor's employer of those hours.

(D) Section 4109.03, divisions (A) and (C) of section 4109.02, and division (B) of section 4109.08 of the Revised Code do not apply to minors who are sixteen or seventeen years of age and who are employed at a seasonal amusement or recreational establishment.

(E) Section 4109.07 of the Revised Code does not apply to a minor employed as a minor performer.

(F) As used in this section, "certificate of high school equivalence" means either:

(1) A statement issued by the department of education and workforce that the holder of the statement has achieved the equivalent of a high school education as measured by scores obtained on a high school equivalency test approved by the department pursuant to division (B) of section 3301.80 of the Revised Code;

(2) A statement issued by a primary-secondary education or higher education agency of another state that the holder of the statement has achieved the equivalent of a high school education as measured by scores obtained on a similar nationally recognized high school equivalency test.

Sec. 4109.08. (A) No minor shall be employed unless the employer keeps on the premises a complete list of all minors employed by the employer at a particular establishment and a printed abstract to be furnished by the director of commerce summarizing the provisions of this chapter.

The list and abstract shall be posted in plain view in a conspicuous place which is frequented by the largest number of minor employees, and to which all minor employees have access.

(B) An enforcement official may require any employer, in or about whose establishment an employee apparently under eighteen years of age is employed and whose age and schooling certificate is not on file with the director of commerce as required by section 3331.01 of the Revised Code or whose documentation is not on file with the employer as required by section 4109.28 of the Revised Code, to furnish the enforcement official satisfactory evidence that the employee is in fact eighteen years of age or older. The enforcement official shall require from the employer the same evidence of age of the employee as is required by section 3331.02 of the Revised Code upon the issuance of an age and schooling certificate. No employer shall fail to produce the evidence.

(C) Any employee apparently under eighteen years of age, working in any occupation or establishment with respect to which there are restrictions by rule or law governing the employment of minors, with respect to whom the employer has not furnished satisfactory evidence that the person is at or above the age required for performance of employment with the employer after being requested to do so, and who refuses to give to an enforcement official the employee's name, age, and place of residence may be taken into custody and charged with being an unruly child or other appropriate charge under Chapter 2151. or 2152. of the Revised Code.

(D) No person shall, with the intent to assist a minor to procure employment, make a false statement by any means, including by submitting falsified forms electronically, to any employer or to any person authorized to issue an age and schooling certificate.

Sec. 4109.25. Except as otherwise provided in section 4109.05 of the Revised Code, no employer shall employ a minor as a minor performer if the employment is detrimental to the minor's life, health, safety, welfare, or morals or interferes with the minor's schooling.

Sec. 4109.26. No minor under sixteen years of age shall do either of the following:

(A) Be employed as a minor performer for more than eighteen hours in any week that school is in session or for more than forty hours in any week that school is not in session;

(B) Be employed as a minor performer unless the minor is accompanied by a parent or guardian at all rehearsals, appearances, performances, and sessions that occur in connection with the minor's employment as a minor performer.

Sec. 4109.27. An employer that employs a minor performer of compulsory school age shall ensure the minor performer is provided instruction that complies with all applicable requirements of Title XXXIII of the Revised Code, including that the minor performer shall be taught by an individual licensed under sections 3319.22 to 3319.31 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4109.28. (A) As used in this section, "physician" means an individual authorized under Chapter 4731. of the Revised Code to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery.

(B) No employer shall employ a minor who is not of compulsory school age as a minor performer unless the employer has on file the documentation required under division (D) of this section as a condition of employment.

(C) Before a prospective employer employs a minor who is not of compulsory school age as a minor performer, the employer shall provide the minor's parent or guardian with a written statement explaining the nature and duration of the proposed employment of the minor. The parent or guardian shall provide the written statement to, and have the minor examined by, a physician. The physician, after examining the minor, shall determine whether the minor is physically capable of being employed as a minor performer for the nature and duration of the employment specified in the written statement.

(D)(1) If a physician determines a minor who is not of compulsory school age is physically capable of being employed as a minor performer for the nature and duration of the employment specified in a prospective employer's written statement under division (C) of this section, the physician shall issue to the minor's parent or guardian a written certification regarding the physician's determination.

(2) On receiving a written certification issued under division (D)(1) of this section, the minor's parent or guardian shall submit to the prospective employer all of the following documentation:

(a) The written certification;

(b) Evidence of the minor's age in one of the forms of proof listed in division (A)(3) of section 3331.02 of the Revised Code;

(c) A written statement signed by the minor's parent or guardian consenting to the minor being employed by the prospective employer as a minor performer.

(E) An employer shall keep on file the documentation described under division (D)(2) of this section for the duration of the minor's employment with the employer as a minor performer.

Sec. 4109.29. (A) As used in this section, "certification of trust" means a document described in section 5810.13 of the Revised Code.

(B) Except as provided in division (C) of this section, not later than seven days after the date an employment contract is entered into under which an employer compensates a minor for employment as a minor performer, the minor's parent, guardian, or custodian shall establish a trust account in the minor's state of residence for the minor's benefit.

(C) This section does not apply to a minor if the minor's gross earnings for being employed as a minor performer is less than one thousand dollars.

(D) Not later than fifteen days after the date a minor begins employment as a minor performer, the parent, guardian, custodian, or trustee shall provide the minor's employer with a certification of trust. On providing the certification of trust, the employer shall provide the parent, guardian, custodian, or trustee with a written acknowledgment of receipt of the certification of trust.

(E) If a parent, guardian, custodian, or trustee does not provide the minor's employer with a certification of trust as required under division (D) of this section within ninety days after the minor begins employment as a minor performer, the minor's employer shall refer the matter to a court of competent jurisdiction, and the court shall appoint a trustee.

(F) An employer employing a minor as a minor performer shall deposit fifteen per cent of the minor's earnings directly into the minor's trust account established for the minor's benefit not later than fifteen days after the last day the minor performs services for the employer. If no trust account is established for the minor's benefit, the employer shall withhold fifteen per cent of the minor's earnings until a trust account is established.

On the employer depositing fifteen per cent of the minor's earnings into a trust account established for the minor's benefit, both of the following apply:

(1) The employer is relieved of monitoring the funds.

(2) The trustee shall monitor and account for the funds.

(G) No minor shall have access to the funds placed in trust for the minor's benefit under this section unless either of the following apply:

(1) The minor reaches at least eighteen years of age or becomes emancipated.

(2) A court of competent jurisdiction orders the release of funds from the trust.

(H) A trust established in this state pursuant to this section is subject to continuing judicial supervision.

On petition to a court of competent jurisdiction by a minor performer's parent, guardian, custodian, or trustee, the court, for good cause shown, may order that a trust established in this state pursuant to this section be terminated or amended, provided that the court has given reasonable notice and an opportunity for all interested parties to appear and be heard.

Section 2. That existing sections 3331.01, 3331.12, 4109.01, 4109.03, 4109.05, 4109.06, and 4109.08 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.