The Commissioner of Labor may at any time revoke any employment certificate if in his or her judgment the employment certificate was improperly issued. The Commissioner shall be authorized to investigate the true age of any minor employed, hear evidence, and require the production of relevant books or documents. If the employment certificate of a minor is revoked, the employer of the minor at the time of the revocation shall be notified and the minor shall not be employed or permitted to work thereafter until a new and valid employment certificate shall have been obtained.
(Ga. L. 1925, p. 291, § 4; Code 1933, § 54-304; Ga. L. 1946, p. 67, § 7; Ga. L. 1981, p. 792, § 3; Ga. L. 2015, p. 943, § 4/HB 366.)
The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, inserted "or her" in the first sentence of this Code section.
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).
JUDICIAL DECISIONS
Editor's notes.
- In light of the similarity of the provisions, decisions under former Code 1910, § 3149(1) are included in the annotations for this Code section.
Evidence where age at issue.- In an action for injuries to an employee under the age of 14 years, who alleged employment in violation of statute, when the child's age was an issue under the pleadings, the child's father's testimony as to conversation with defendant's superintendent after the accident, during which the superintendent urged the father to sign a card, was admissible as against the objection that it was irrelevant. International Cotton Mills v. Burnham, 284 F. 351 (5th Cir. 1922), (decided under former Code 1910, § 3149(1)).
Employer may defend oneself by showing that the employer exercised due diligence to find out the minor's age before employing her; and whether such diligence was exercised was a question for the jury. Ransom v. Nunnally Co., 26 Ga. App. 222, 105 S.E. 822 (1921) (decided under former Code 1910, § 3149(1)).