Q: I plan to hire some young people for my business this summer and even though I’m fairly well-versed with employment regulations for adults, I imagine there are different regulations for the employment of minors. Can you enlighten me?
A: You guessed right. There are federal and state standards for the employment of minors restricting the age, the number of hours they can work and the type of work they’re allowed to do.
Age
With some exceptions, minors under 14 are not allowed to work. Minors 14-15 and minors 16-17 have similar restrictions, with more stringent rules applying to the younger ones. The following guidelines apply to the older group which I thought would be most applicable to you.
Number of hours
If school is in session, hours may not exceed 30 per week. Minors can’t work before 6:30 am or after 11 pm. However, if you’re planning to employ them once school is out, there are no number-of-hour limits, meaning they could work full time.
Breaks
Unlike adult workers, employers are required to provide minors with a 30-minute uninterrupted break after 4 hours worked.
Type of work:
In the state of Florida there are 17 hazardous occupations considered too dangerous for minors. Among them:
Working around explosives or radioactive substances. Have you seen those “Fireworks for Sale” tents going up in shopping-center parking lots around the 4th of July? They can’t employ minors.
Same goes for working with toxic substances, corrosives or pesticides. So if you have a pest control or lawn care service you may be limited in what minors are allowed to do
Cleaning rain gutters or painting the house trim? These may best be left to adult workers because working on any scaffolding, roofs or ladders above 6 feet is not allowed.
As you’d expect, wrecking, demolition, excavation or any type of mining, is prohibited. But, even if you’re in the cabinetry making business -which sounds safe enough- you might be limited since a minor operating circular saws, band saws or guillotine shears is a no/go.
Lastly, if you’re going to be “an employer of minors” you must post in a conspicuous place the Child Labor Laws poster available at www.myfloridalicense.com
©Copyright Eva Del Rio
