Minor Labor - pizza oven

Pizza Shop Talk The Think Tank
1

I know this topic was addressed in this thread awhile back THREAD HERE but there was not a definitive answer.
Reading here I get the impression that someone 16-17 CAN operate a pizza oven. If you scroll halfway down the page it specifically says
Cooking Tasks and 14- and 15-year-olds
This age group may not perform any part of the baking process, such as weighing and mixing ingredients; placing or assembling products in pans or on trays; operating ovens, including convections ovens, toaster ovens, pizza ovens, automatic feeding ovens, and microwave ovens (except those microwave ovens used for warming food as described above); removing items from ovens; placing items on cooling trays; and finishing baked products.
So one would decipher that if a 14-15 year old is NOT allowed to operate it, then a 16-17 year old should be allowed to use it.

Also, looking back at the top half of the page it says (bold added for emphasis)
Sixteen- and 17-year-olds may be employed for unlimited hours in any occupation other than those declared hazardous by the Secretary of Labor. Examples of equipment declared hazardous and often used by cooks and bakers include power-driven meat processing machines (meat slicers, meat saws, patty forming machines, meat grinders, and meat choppers), commercial mixers and certain power-driven bakery machines. Employees under 18 years of age are not permitted to operate, feed, set-up, adjust, repair, or clean any of these machines. This prohibition includes the hand-washing of the disassembled parts of meat processing machines.
So what is a Power Driven bakery machine?
Power-driven bakery machine means a horizontal or vertical dough mixer, batter mixer, bread dividing, rounding or molding machine, dough brake, dough sheeter, combination bread slicing and wrapping machine, cake cutting band saw, cookie machine or cracker machine.

So to me it seems like the law reads that a 14-15 year old cannot load or unload an oven. But anyone over 16 may.
Also, from the top section - if you have a dough sheeter with certain safety guards in place then someone over 16 may also operate that.

Thoughts?

2

Lol, I mean I agree with your deductive reasoning but I see no reason why that age can’t do any of the mentioned things if trained properly. Cleaning slicer blades, that kind of stuff, okay. But not putting ingredients into a big stainless steel bowl? That’s like not being allowed to put a spoon in a sink. Some of this is just stupid

3

Well sure, I agree. I don’t understand the mixing ingredients portion either.
But like mentioned in the thread I linked to at the top. A pretzel shop was fined 40K because a 16 year old worker put trash in a trash compactor. So is it worth a fine if we are wrong?

4

I think these are very rare situations where some crazy parent asks what the kid did at work, then the kid actually shares information. Then said parent is a labor relations nut. Without video proof it probably cannot be proven anyway