§ 522.3 - Application for a learner certificate.

(a) Whenever the employment of learners at wages lower than the minimum wage applicable under section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, is believed necessary to prevent curtailment of opportunities for employment in a specified plant, an application for a certificate authorizing the employment of such learners at subminimum wage rates may be filed by the employer with the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC 20210. A copy of such application shall be filed simultaneously with the appropriate Regional Office of these Divisions. With respect to employees working in Puerto Rico or in the Virgin Islands, application shall be filed with the Territorial Director of the Wage and Hour Division, U.S. Department of Labor, Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

(b) Application must be made on the official form furnished by these Divisions and must contain all information required by such form, including among other things, information concerning efforts made by the applicant to obtain experienced workers, the occupations in which learners are to be employed, the number of learners previously hired, whether learners are actually available, the number of learners requested, their proposed hourly rates and learning periods in number of hours, the number of experienced workers in such occupations and their straight-time average hourly earnings during the last payroll period, the number of plant workers employed during previous periods, and the type of equipment to be used by learners. Any applicant may also submit such additional information as may be pertinent.

(c) Any application which fails to present the information required by the forms may be returned to the applicant with a notation of deficiencies and without prejudice against submission of a new or revised application.

(d) Separate application must be made with respect to each plant in which the applicant desires to employ learners at subminimum wage rates. Where an establishment occupies several buildings in the same community and the workers in those buildings are engaged in the various processes necessary to the manufacture of primary products of the establishment, the workers shall be regarded as employees of the same plant for the purposes of the regulations in this part.

(e) When an application is filed for a learner certificate for a new or expanding plant and the applicant is moving from a plant of the same company or of a closely related company in another location, or is tranferring production from such plant, or has recently so moved or transferred production, the applicant shall attach to the application a signed statement giving the following information: (1) Name, location and products of the plant from which the applicant is moving or is transferring production; (2) average and minimum wage rates paid at such plant for the occupations in which learners are requested to be employed at subminimum rates; and (3) reasons for removal or transfer of production.

(f) Application for a renewal of a learner certificate shall be made on the same form as described in this section. No effective learner certificate shall expire until action on an application for renewal shall have been finally determined, provided that such application has been properly executed in accordance with the requirements, and filed with and received by the Administrator of the Wage and House and Public Contracts Divisions not less than fifteen nor more than thirty days prior to the expiration date. A final determination means either the granting of or initial denial of the application for renewal of a learner certificate, or withdrawal of the application. A “properly executed application” is one which contains the complete information required on the form, and the required certification by a responsible official of the applicant company.

(g) Upon making application for a learner certificate or for renewal thereof, an employer shall post a notice of filing of application on a form supplied by these Divisions in a conspicuous place in each department of the plant where he proposes to employ learners at subminimum wage rates. Such notice shall remain posted until such time as the application shall have been acted upon by the Administrator or his authorized representative. The notice must set forth, among other things, the number of learners that the employer has requested permission to employ; the occupations in which the learners will be employed; and a representation by a responsible official that experienced workers are not available, and that the employment of learners at subminimum wage rates is necessary in order to prevent a curtailment of opportunities for employment.

(The information collection requirements contained in paragraph (b) were approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1215-0012)