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title-39•Title 39 — Minors
Official Code of Georgia Annotated — Title 39. Minors
Snapshot of the Georgia code as mirrored by FindLaw, current as of 2024-03-28.
(a) The age of legal majority in this state is 18 years; until that age all persons are minors.
(b) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed automatically to render an individual a resident of this state when that individual is in the state for the purpose of attending school. In the case of such individual, his residence will be considered to be the state in which his parents reside if under the laws of that state the individual would still be considered a minor and he is incapable of proving his emancipation.
No minor under 16 years of age shall be employed by or permitted to work in or about any mill, factory, laundry, manufacturing establishment, or workshop nor in any occupation which has been designated as hazardous in accordance with Code Section 39-2-2.
No minor under the age of 16 years shall be employed or permitted to work at any occupation or in any position which the Commissioner of Labor may declare by regulation dangerous to life and limb or injurious to the health or morals of such minor.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no minor under 16 years of age shall be permitted to work for any person, firm, or corporation between the hours of 9:00 P.M. and 6:00 A.M.
No minor under 16 years of age shall be employed or permitted to work in any gainful occupation during the hours when public or private schools are in session unless said minor has completed senior high school or has been excused from attendance in school by a county or independent school system board of education in accordance with the general policies and regulations promulgated by the State Board of Education.
No minor under 16 years of age shall be employed in the delivery of messages by any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the message service business or in the general work of messenger service between the hours of 9:00 P.M. and 6:00 A.M.
Minors under 16 years of age may be employed to sell or deliver newspapers in residential areas between the hours of 5:00 A.M. and 9:00 P.M. but shall not be employed to sell or deliver newspapers between the hours of 9:00 P.M. and 5:00 A.M., provided that such employment shall not be for a longer time than is provided in Code Section 39-2-7 and shall not be performed during school hours.
No minor under 16 years of age shall be employed or permitted to work in any gainful occupation covered by this chapter for more than four hours on any day in which the school attended by said minor is in session, more than eight hours on days other than school days, or more than 40 hours in any one week.
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.
(a) Minors who are at least 12 years of age but less than 16 years of age shall not be employed by or permitted to work for any person, firm, or corporation unless an employment certificate, showing the true age of such minor and that such minor is not less than 12 years of age and is physically fit to engage in the employment sought to be obtained, is issued in writing by an appropriate issuing officer who shall be one of the following:
(1) If enrolled in a public school, the school superintendent or some member of his or her staff authorized by him or her, in the county or city where the minor resides;
(2) If enrolled in a licensed private school, the principal administrative officer thereof or some member of his or her staff authorized by him or her; or
(3) If enrolled in a home study program, the person, parent, or guardian providing the home study program.
(b) No employment certificate shall be issued to any minor until the minor shall have submitted to the issuing officer:
(1) A certified copy of a birth certificate or birth registration card; and
(2) A statement from the prospective employer describing the type of employment offered; and indicating that if furnished with a certificate from the appropriate issuing officer as required in subsection (a) of this Code section, such prospective employer could employ the minor immediately. It shall be understood that the prospective employer, by furnishing such statement, does not undertake to employ the minor for any specific period of time.
(c)(1) The employment certificate provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section shall be accompanied by a letter from the appropriate issuing officer indicating that the minor is enrolled in a school or a home study program full-time and has an attendance record in good standing for the current academic year. The employer of a minor shall maintain a copy of such certificate and letter in the minor's employment file. Such letter shall be updated in January of each subsequent academic year during which the minor maintains his or her employment until such minor reaches the age of 16 years. Any employer failing to comply with this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $1,000.00, up to 12 months' imprisonment, or both, for each violation.
(2) The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules and regulations to provide for the issuance of a waiver or exemption from the provisions of this subsection to a minor, upon such minor's petition, if there is clear and convincing evidence that the enforcement of the provisions of this subsection upon such minor would create an undue hardship upon the minor or the minor's family or if there is clear and convincing evidence that the enforcement of the provisions of this subsection would act as a detriment to the health or welfare of the minor.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or any rule or regulation of the Commissioner of Labor adopted pursuant to the provisions of Code Section 39-2-2 to the contrary, a minor 14 years of age or over may be employed during the months of vacation from school in the care and maintenance of lawns, gardens, and shrubbery owned or leased by the employer of such minor, including the operation of equipment in connection therewith, provided that the minor is covered by an accident and sickness insurance plan or a workers' compensation insurance policy or plan provided by the employer; that the minor presents the employer with the employment certificate required by Code Section 39-2-11; and that the minor is permitted by the employer to care for and maintain only those lawns, gardens, and shrubbery owned or leased by the employer. The work authorized by this Code section includes the care and maintenance of lawns, gardens, and shrubbery on the grounds of mills or factories described in Code Section 39-2-1 and on the grounds of any other factory, mill, or business where employment of the minor within the factory, mill, or business might be prohibited by this chapter or by rules and regulations of the Commissioner of Labor.
(a) Employment certificates shall state the full name, date, and place of birth of the minor; the name and address of the parents, guardian, or other person having custody of such minor; and that the minor has appeared before the issuing officer and presented the evidence of age required by Code Section 39-2-11.
(b) Blank forms of employment certificates shall be made available by the Commissioner of Labor to school superintendents of public schools in the respective cities and counties, to principal administrative officers of private schools, and to persons, parents, or guardians providing home study programs.
(c) A duplicate copy of each employment certificate shall be filed with the Commissioner of Labor within 30 days from its issuance.
(a) Upon termination of employment of any minor between 12 and 16 years of age, the employer shall return the employment certificate to the issuing officer within five days of the date of the termination of employment.
(b) Where the employment of any minor between 12 and 16 years of age shall not have been terminated, but the minor shall have failed to appear for work for a period of 30 days, the employer shall return the employment certificate to the issuing officer within five days of the date of the expiration of the 30 day period.
(c) Upon return to the issuing officer of an employment certificate as provided for in this Code section, a new employment certificate shall be issued to a minor only upon presentation by the minor of a new statement from the prospective employer as provided for in Code Section 39-2-11.
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.
(a) Any person who shall sell, apprentice, give away, let out, or otherwise dispose of any minor under 12 years of age to any person for the vocation, occupation, or service of rope or wire walking, begging, or as a gymnast, contortionist, circus rider, acrobat, or clown, or for any indecent, obscene, or immoral exhibition, practice, or purpose shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b) Whenever a minor shall be disposed of in violation of subsection (a) of this Code section, the person who receives and uses any minor for any of the purposes condemned in said subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter to the contrary, nothing in this chapter shall apply to any minor employed as an actor or performer in motion pictures or theatrical productions, in radio or television productions, in any other performance, concert, or entertainment, or to any minor employed in the making of phonographic records or as an advertising or photographic model, provided that the written consent of the Commissioner of Labor must be first obtained.
(b) Before the Commissioner of Labor shall give his written consent, as provided in subsection (a) of this Code section, he shall investigate and determine:
(1) That the environment in which the work is to be performed is proper for the minor;
(2) That the conditions of employment are not detrimental to the health of the minor;
(3) That the minor's education will not be neglected or hampered by his participation in any of the activities referred to in subsection (a); and
(4) That the minor will not be used for pornographic purposes.
It shall be the duty of the Department of Labor to enforce this chapter and the Commissioner of Labor shall issue rules and regulations pursuant thereto.
Any person, firm, or corporation or agent thereof violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Any person, firm, or corporation or agent thereof violating any of the provisions of this chapter may be enjoined from employing the minor involved in such violation upon the complaint of the Commissioner of Labor in the superior court of any county in which the employer may be doing business or employing such minor; provided, however, that any court order under this Code section shall be narrowly drawn and narrowly construed so as to provide the minimum possible disruption of the ongoing business affairs of the employer.
As used in Article III of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, the term “appropriate public authorities” means, with reference to this state, the Department of Human Services. The department shall receive and act with reference to notices required by said Article III.
As used in paragraph (a) of Article V of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, the term “appropriate authority in the receiving state” means, with reference to this state, the Department of Human Services.
As used in Article VII of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, the term “executive head” means the Governor.
The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children is enacted into law and entered into with all other jurisdictions legally joining therein in form substantially as follows:
Article I. Purpose and Policy.
It is the purpose and policy of the party states to cooperate with each other in the interstate placement of children to the end that:
(a) Each child requiring placement shall receive the maximum opportunity to be placed in a suitable environment and with persons or institutions having appropriate qualifications and facilities to provide a necessary and desirable degree and type of care.
(b) The appropriate authorities in a state where a child is to be placed may have full opportunity to ascertain the circumstances of the proposed placement, thereby promoting full compliance with applicable requirements for the protection of the child.
(c) The proper authorities of the state from which the placement is made may obtain the most complete information on the basis of which to evaluate a projected placement before it is made.
(d) Appropriate jurisdictional arrangements for the care of children will be promoted.
Article II. Definitions.
As used in this compact:
(a) “Child” means a person who, by reason of minority, is legally subject to parental, guardianship or similar control.
(b) “Sending agency” means a party state, or officer or employee thereof; a subdivision of a party state, or officer or employee thereof; a court of a party state; a person, corporation, association, charitable agency or other entity which sends, brings, or causes to be sent or brought any child to another party state.
(c) “Receiving state” means the state to which a child is sent, brought, or caused to be sent or brought, whether by public authorities or private persons or agencies, and whether for placement with state or local public authorities or for placement with private agencies or persons.
(d) “Placement” means the arrangement for the care of a child in a family free or boarding home or in a child-caring agency or institution but does not include any institution caring for the mentally ill, mentally defective or epileptic or any institution primarily educational in character, and any hospital or other medical facility.
Article III. Conditions for Placement.
(a) No sending agency shall send, bring, or cause to be sent or brought into any other party state any child for placement in foster care or as a preliminary to a possible adoption unless the sending agency shall comply with each and every requirement set forth in this Article and with the applicable laws of the receiving state governing the placement of children therein.
(b) Prior to sending, bringing or causing any child to be sent or brought into a receiving state for placement in foster care or as a preliminary to a possible adoption, the sending agency shall furnish the appropriate public authorities in the receiving state written notice of the intention to send, bring, or place the child in the receiving state. The notice shall contain:
(1) The name, date and place of birth of the child.
(2) The identity and address or addresses of the parents or legal guardian.
(3) The name and address of the person, agency or institution to or with which the sending agency proposes to send, bring, or place the child.
(4) A full statement of the reasons for such proposed action and evidence of the authority pursuant to which the placement is proposed to be made.
(c) Any public officer or agency in a receiving state which is in receipt of a notice pursuant to paragraph (b) of this Article may request of the sending agency, or any other appropriate officer or agency of or in the sending agency's state, and shall be entitled to receive therefrom, such supporting or additional information as it may deem necessary under the circumstances to carry out the purpose and policy of this compact.
(d) The child shall not be sent, brought or caused to be sent or brought into the receiving state until the appropriate public authorities in the receiving state shall notify the sending agency, in writing, to the effect that the proposed placement does not appear to be contrary to the interests of the child.
Article IV. Penalty for Illegal Placement.
The sending, bringing, or causing to be sent or brought into any receiving state of a child in violation of the terms of this compact shall constitute a violation of the laws respecting the placement of children of both the state in which the sending agency is located or from which it sends or brings the child and of the receiving state. Such violation may be punished or subjected to penalty in either jurisdiction in accordance with its laws. In addition to liability for any such punishment or penalty, any such violation shall constitute full and sufficient grounds for the suspension or revocation of any license, permit, or other legal authorization held by the sending agency which empowers or allows it to place or care for children.
Article V. Retention of Jurisdiction.
(a) The sending agency shall retain jurisdiction over the child sufficient to determine all matters in relation to the custody, supervision, care, treatment and disposition of the child which it would have had if the child had remained in the sending agency's state, until the child is adopted, reaches majority, becomes self-supporting or is discharged with the concurrence of the appropriate authority in the receiving state. Such jurisdiction shall also include the power to effect or cause the return of the child or its transfer to another location and custody pursuant to law. The sending agency shall continue to have financial responsibility for support and maintenance of the child during the period of the placement. Nothing contained herein shall defeat a claim of jurisdiction by a receiving state sufficient to deal with an act of delinquency or crime committed therein.
(b) When the sending agency is a public agency, it may enter into an agreement with an authorized public or private agency in the receiving state providing for the performance of one or more services in respect of such case by the latter as agent for the sending agency.
(c) Nothing in this compact shall be construed to prevent a private charitable agency authorized to place children in the receiving state from performing services or acting as agent in that state for a private charitable agency of the sending state; nor to prevent the agency in the receiving state from discharging financial responsibility for the support and maintenance of a child who has been placed on behalf of the sending agency without relieving the responsibility set forth in paragraph (a) hereof.
Article VI. Institutional Care of Delinquent Children.
A child adjudicated delinquent may be placed in an institution in another party jurisdiction pursuant to this compact but no such placement shall be made unless the child is given a court hearing on notice to the parent or guardian with opportunity to be heard, prior to his being sent to such other party jurisdiction for institutional care and the court finds that:
Equivalent facilities for the child are not available in the sending agency's jurisdiction; and
Institutional care in the other jurisdiction is in the best interest of the child and will not produce undue hardship.
Article VII. Compact Administrator.
The executive head of each jurisdiction party to this compact shall designate an officer who shall be general coordinator of activities under this compact in his jurisdiction and who, acting jointly with like officers of other party jurisdictions, shall have power to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out more effectively the terms and provisions of this compact.
Article VIII. Limitations.
This compact shall not apply to:
(a) The sending or bringing of a child into a receiving state by his parent, step-parent, grandparent, adult brother or sister, adult uncle or aunt, or his guardian and leaving the child with any such relative or non-agency guardian in the receiving state.
(b) Any placement, sending or bringing of a child into a receiving state pursuant to any other interstate compact to which both the state from which the child is sent or brought and the receiving state are party, or to any other agreement between said states which has the force of law.
Article IX. Enactment and Withdrawal.
This compact shall be open to joinder by any state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and, with the consent of Congress, the Government of Canada or any province thereof. It shall become effective with respect to any such jurisdiction when such jurisdiction has enacted the same into law. Withdrawal from this compact shall be by the enactment of a statute repealing the same, but shall not take effect until two years after the effective date of such statute and until written notice of the withdrawal has been given by the withdrawing state to the Governor of each other party jurisdiction. Withdrawal of a party state shall not affect the rights, duties and obligations under this compact of any sending agency therein with respect to a placement made prior to the effective date of withdrawal.
Article X. Construction and Severability.
The provisions of this compact shall be liberally construed to effectuate the purposes thereof. The provisions of this compact shall be severable and if any phrase, clause, sentence or provision of this compact is declared to be contrary to the constitution of any party state or of the United States or the applicability thereof to any government, agency, person or circumstance is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of this compact and applicability thereof to any government, agency, person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby. If this compact shall be held contrary to the constitution of any state party thereto, the compact shall remain in full force and effect as to the remaining states and in full force and effect as to the state affected as to all severable matters.
The Governor is authorized to appoint a compact administrator in accordance with the terms of Article VII of the compact.
The officers and agencies of this state and its subdivisions having authority to place children are empowered to enter into agreements with appropriate officers or agencies of or in other party states pursuant to paragraph (b) of Article V of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.
Any court having jurisdiction to place delinquent children may place such a child in an institution in another state pursuant to Article VI of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children and shall retain jurisdiction as provided in Article V thereof.
Financial responsibility for any child placed pursuant to the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Article V thereof in the first instance. However, in the event of partial or complete default of performance thereunder, Articles 1 and 2 of Chapter 11 of Title 19, relating to enforcement of support obligations and other applicable provisions of law may also be invoked.
Code Section 49-5-15 shall not apply to placements made pursuant to the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.
Any requirements for visitation, inspection, or supervision of children, homes, institutions, or other agencies in another party state which may apply under Code Section 49-5-12 shall be deemed to be met if performed pursuant to an agreement entered into by appropriate officers or agencies of this state or a subdivision thereof as contemplated by paragraph (b) of Article V of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.
As used in this chapter, the term:
(1) “Interactive computer service” means any information service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including specifically a service or system that provides access to the Internet and such systems operated or services offered by libraries or educational institutions; provided, however, that such term shall not include an entity that provides access to the Internet using wireless service.
(2) “Internet access provider” means an entity that provides consumers with access to the Internet; provided, however, that such term shall not include an entity that provides access to the Internet using wireless service.
(3) “Internet or any other computer network” means the computer network commonly known as the Internet and any other local, regional, or global computer network that is similar to or is a predecessor or successor of the Internet.
(4) “Minor” means a person who is less than 18 years of age.
(5) “Wireless service” shall have the same meaning as set forth in paragraph (3) of Code Section 46-5-221.
(a) If an Internet access provider knows or has reason to know from registration data in its possession that a subscriber currently resides within this state, such provider shall make available to the subscriber, in accordance with subsection (c) of this Code section, a product or service that enables the subscriber to control a minor's use of the Internet, if such product or service is reasonably and commercially available for the technology used by the subscriber to access the Internet.
(b) The product or service shall enable, in a commercially reasonable manner, the subscriber to:
(1) Block a minor's access to specific websites or domains;
(2) Restrict a minor's access exclusively to specific websites or domains approved by the subscriber; and
(3) Allow the subscriber to monitor a minor's use of the Internet service by providing a report to the subscriber of the specific websites or domains that the minor has visited or has attempted to visit but could not access because the websites or domains were blocked or restricted by the subscriber.
(c) If a product or service described in this Code section is reasonably and commercially available for the technology utilized by the subscriber to access the Internet service, the Internet service provider shall:
(1) Provide to the subscriber, at or near the time of subscription, information about the availability of a product or service described in this Code section; or
(2) Make a product or service described in this Code section available to the subscriber either directly or through a third-party vendor and may charge for the product or service.
(a) Telecommunications service providers, wireless service providers, and providers of information services, including, but not limited to Internet service providers and hosting service providers, shall not be liable under this chapter by virtue of the transmission, storage, or caching of electronic communications or messages of others or by virtue of the provision of other related telecommunications or information services used by others in violation of this chapter.
(b) No provider of an interactive computer service shall be liable under this chapter for:
(1) Identifying, removing, disabling, blocking, or otherwise affecting a user based upon a good faith belief that user's e-mail address, username, or other similar Internet identifier appeared in the National Sex Offender Registry or the state sexual offender registry; or
(2) Failing to identify, block, or otherwise prevent a person from registering for an interactive computer service or failing to remove, disable, or otherwise affect a registered user whose e-mail address, username, or other similar Internet identifier appeared in the National Sex Offender Registry or the state sexual offender registry.
(a) An interactive computer service doing business in this state that obtains knowledge of facts or circumstances from which a violation of any law of this state prohibiting child pornography is apparent shall make a report, as soon as reasonably possible, of such facts and circumstances to the Cyber Tipline at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
(b) Any interactive computer service that knowingly and willfully violates subsection (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon a second or subsequent conviction shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.
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