Virginia Law

The following terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Agriculture" includes farming in all its branches and among other things includes the cultivation and tillage of soil, dairying, the production, cultivation, growing, and harvesting of any agricultural or horticultural commodities (including commodities defined as agricultural commodities in § 15(g) of the Federal Agricultural Marketing Act, as amended), the raising of livestock, bees, fur-bearing animals, or poultry, and any practices (including any forestry or lumbering operations) performed by a farmer or on a farm as an incident to or in conjunction with such farming operations, including preparation for market, delivery to storage or to market or to carriers for transportation to market.

"Commissioner" means the Virginia Commissioner of Labor and Industry.

"Department" means the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry.

"Employ" includes to suffer or permit to work. The nature of an employer-employee relationship is ordinarily to be determined not solely on the basis of the contractual relationship between the parties but also in the light of all the facts and circumstances. Moreover, the terms "employer" and "employ" are broader than the common law concept of employment and must be interpreted broadly in the light of the mischief to be corrected. Thus, neither the technical relationship between the parties nor the fact that the minor is unsupervised or receives no compensation is controlling in determining whether an employer-employee relationship exists. However, these are matters which should be considered along with all other facts and circumstances surrounding the relationship of the parties in arriving at such determination.

The words "suffer or permit to work" include those who suffer by a failure to hinder and those who permit by acquiescence in addition to those who employ by oral or written contract. A typical illustration of employment of oppressive child labor by suffering or permitting an underaged minor to work is that of an employer who knows that his employee is utilizing the services of such a minor as a helper or substitute in performing his employer's work. If the employer acquiesces in the practice or fails to exercise his power to hinder it, he is himself suffering or permitting the helper to work and is, therefore, employing him.