Employment of Minors

Businesses in some industries rarely utilize minors as employees, but in many other sectors teenagers comprise a large component of the total work force; indeed, some enterprises engaged in various retail, restaurant, and other businesses rely on minors to a considerable degree. The primary advantage associated with employing minors is that compensation is far less costly than if the employer decided to hire adults as staff. But employers should be aware of the various legal restrictions that state and federal agencies have placed on the employment of minors, and they should also be cognizant of the particular challenges and rewards that accompany the decision to hire teenagers.

LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

In addition to state laws, which have varying rules regarding child labor and compulsory school attendance laws, employers should be familiar with the federal government's Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The rules in the FLSA differ from individual states in some respects; in cases where differences exist, the stricter law prevails.

Ignorance of state and federal child labor laws will not save employers from fines; fines can be quite substantial. "Many companies have discovered that there are two sides to the child labor issue," wrote Steven Slutsky in Journal of Business Strategy. "On the one hand, minors can be a cost-effective and flexible supplement to your core work force. But on the other hand, the penalties for violating the child labor laws can be steep." Indeed, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) imposes fines of up to $10,000 per minor on those businesses that violate the child labor provisions detailed in the FLSA, and in the mid-1990s the DOL upped the stakes for employers who flout or remain ignorant of American child labor law by adding fines of $10,000 per infraction—not per minor—and eliminating the cap on the total amount of fines that could be imposed. These latter measures were taken for the purpose of punishing employers whose violations contributed to the death or significant injury of a minor.

Slutsky admitted that the likelihood of an employer being singled out by the Department of Labor for a random compliance audit is remote unless the company is active in a high-risk industry. "But don't assume that the DOL won't find out about child labor law violations," he warned. "Word usually gets back to the agency in the form of complaints from underage employees or their parents or even unions. The publicity factor is involved here as well, since violations that result in injuries or death often are picked up by the media."

Small business owners, then, should make sure that they—and their supervisory personnel, if any—are fully aware of what minor employees are permitted to do. First, it is important to recognize that employees can basically be broken down into three age groups: workers who are 18 years old or older, and thus regarded as adults under the law; youngsters who are 16 or 17 years old; and minors who are 14 or 15 years old (employment of children under the age of 14 is severely restricted, although parents who employ their children enjoy greater leeway).

Restrictions on Minors Under Age 18

According to the Department of Labor, minors under the age of 18 are not allowed to perform jobs that the department has classified as detrimental to their physical safety, mental safety, and health. These restrictions forbid minors from operating (or setting up, repairing, adjusting, or cleaning) any power-driven machines, including woodworking machinery, metal forming machines, punching and shearing machines, paper products machines, circular and band saws, bakery machines, meat-processing equipment, or hoisting apparatus (forklifts, cranes, derricks, freight elevators). Since February 2005, under revised DOL regulations, minors under 17 are also restricted to the types of cooking activities in which they may engage. They may not drive on the job except under certain circumstances and only if they have a valid state license, have completed state-approved driver education, and have no record of moving violations. In addition, minors are prohibited from engaging in the following activities at their place of employment:

• Operating motor vehicles or assisting as outside help on those vehicles.
• Working in any capacity on roofing, wrecking, or demolition jobs.
• Working in mining operations, unless in office, maintenance, or repair capacities away from the mine site.
• Working in areas where explosives (fireworks, dynamite, ammunition, etc.) are manufactured or stored.
• Working in logging or sawmilling operations.
• Assisting in the manufacture of brick, tile, and kindred products.
• Working at tasks that require exposure to radioactive substances.
• Undertaking excavation work (exceptions are made for manual excavation in trenches and building excavations, provided the dig does not exceed four feet in depth).

It should be noted that exceptions to some of these rules may be made for minors who are participating in recognized apprenticeship programs. On a practical basis, however, these restrictions mean that minors are of limited use in non-office settings to businesses engaged in construction, manufacturing, and the like. Still, manufacturers and construction firms do maintain staff devoted to clerical work and custodial duties, and minor employees may be suitable for these slots. The above restrictions generally have little impact on businesses looking for cashiers, salespersons, stocking personnel, and other positions that do not require handling of motor-driven equipment.

Restrictions on Minors Age 14 and 15

Additional restrictions have been put in place by both federal and state agencies concerning the employment of 14- and 15-year-old minors. "The environment in which 14-year-olds and 15-year-olds do their work also plays an important role in determining whether the duties are permissible," cautioned Slutsky. "For example, although workers in this age group may clean, wrap, seal, label, weigh, price, and stock produce, they can't perform these tasks in a freezer. And while they may assemble, pack, and shelve merchandise—as can 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds—they can't do it in a warehouse or rooms where manufacturing and processing work takes place." Moreover, owners of construction and transportation companies should be aware that minors under age 16 may not perform any kind of work (including office work) on the construction site or transportation medium. Other areas in which 14- and 15-year-olds are restricted from working include boiler/engine rooms, meat coolers, and places where products are being loaded or unloaded from conveyors or railroad cars.

In addition, 14- and 15-year-old teens are not allowed to work before 7:00 a.m. and after 7:00 p.m. during the school year. They are also not permitted to work during school hours. Finally, these minors may only work certain numbers of hours. During periods of the year when school is in session, 14- and 15-year-old minors may work no more than three hours a day on school days, no more than 18 hours total a week, no more than eight hours a day on non-school days, and no more than 40 hours total during weeks in which school is not in session (summer, vacation breaks).

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