STATE OF MICHIGAN

FRANK J. KELLEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL

Opinion No. 6250

October 17, 1984

INTOXICATING LIQUORS:

Employment of youth in restaurant serving alcoholic beverages

YOUTH EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS ACT:

Employment of youth in part of restaurant serving alcoholic beverages

Persons 14 and 15 years of age may be employed in those areas of a restaurant where alcoholic beverages are not consumed or sold for consumption on the premises, such as the kitchen, the coat room, the parking lot, and other areas apart from the area or areas in the restaurant in which alcoholic beverages are consumed or sold for consumption on the premises.

Honorable Connie Binsfeld

State Senator

The Capitol

Lansing, Michigan

You have requested my opinion whether, under the Youth Employment Standards Act, 1978 PA 90; MCLA 409.101 et seq; MSA 17.731(1) et seq, Sec. 15(2), hereafter the Act, 14 or 15 year old persons may work in the non-service area of restaurants which serve or sell alcoholic beverages for on-premise consumption.

The Act provides for the legal employment and protection of persons under 18 years of age, for the issuance of work permits, and for the regulation of hours and conditions of employment of such minors. 1978 PA 90, Sec. 15(2), supra, provides:

Although 14 and 15 year old persons are not prohibited from employment in restaurant establishments where alcoholic beverages are sold at retail, providing that the sale of foods or other goods condition is satisfied, section 15(2) of the Act, supra, prohibits the employment of 14 and 15-year-old persons in that part of the establishment where alcoholic beverages are served.

Thus, the Legislature has differentiated with respect to the employment of 14 and 15 years old between parts of an establishment where alcoholic beverages are consumed or sold for consumption on the premises, on the one hand, and the parts of an establishment where alcoholic beverages are not consumed or sold for consumption on the premises, on the other hand. Where the Legislature uses certain and unambiguous language, the plain meaning of the statute must be followed. Browder v Int'l Fidelity Ins Co, 413 Mich 603, 611; 321 NW2d 668, 673 (1982).

Thus, permissible areas of a restaurant in which minors 14 and 15 years of age may be employed would include in a kitchen, coatroom, parking lot, or other similar areas which are apart from the areas of the restaurant where alcoholic beverages are consumed or sold for consumption on the premises. Conversely, employment of 14 and 15-year-old persons is prohibited in those areas of a restaurant where alcohol is consumed or sold for consumption on the premises, such as the lounge, the bar, and the dining areas.

It is my opinion, therefore, that persons 14 and 15 years of age may be employed in those areas of a restaurant where alcoholic beverages are not consumed or sold for consumption on the premises, such as the kitchen, the coat room, the parking lot, and other areas apart from that area or areas of the restaurant in which alcoholic beverages are consumed or sold for consumption on the premises.

Frank J. Kelley