News Release--NFIB issues five-point checklist for youth employment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Elizabeth Milito, Small Business Legal Center, 202-406-4433, [email protected]
or Riley Johnson, Montana State Director, 406-439-1021, [email protected]
HELENA, Mont., May 26, 2017— The representative association for the people most likely to offer summer jobs to the young issued a short checklist, today, to parents and employers to help keep things legal.
The National Federation of Independent Business, America’s voice of small business, with 325,000 dues-paying members, including more than 5,000 in Montana, recommended employers and parents take stock of the following:
- The rules apply to them. Just because they’re in school doesn’t mean employers can take advantage of them. Minors are entitled to the same minimum wage, overtime, and safety and health protections as adults. When it comes to work, the federal wage and hour law, officially known as the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, applies to everyone, regardless of age. Other federal and state workplace laws apply to them, too.
- Students 13 and younger have limited options when it comes to summer jobs. Federal law says they’re too young for most non-farming jobs, such as working in a store or restaurant, but there are still jobs they can do. They’re allowed to babysit and perform minor chores around a private home, and if you own a business, they’re allowed to work for you.
- If they’re 14 or 15, their prospects are better. Students in this age bracket are allowed to perform jobs such as bagging groceries, waiting tables and working in an office, but they can’t use power-driven machinery, such as lawn mowers, lawn trimmers, and weed cutters. They also aren’t allowed to work more than 40 hours a week, or 8 hours in one day.
- If they’re 16 or 17, they’re allowed to work up a sweat and earn serious money. There’s no limit to the number of hours 16- and 17-year-olds can work, and they’re allowed to work basically any job that isn’t declared hazardous, provided all other FLSA and state labor requirements are met.
- If they’re 18 or older, legally, they’re adults. It doesn’t matter that they’re still in school. In the eyes of the law, they’re grown up, and that means they can do pretty much any job for which they’re qualified.
More information can be found on this video by Beth Milito, senior counsel at NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center. Follow NFIB/Montana on Twitter at @NFIB_MT and on our webpage at www.nfib.com/montana.
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For more than 70 years, the National Federation of Independent Business has been the Voice of Small Business, taking the message from Main Street to the halls of Congress and all 50 state legislatures. NFIB annually surveys its members on state and federal issues vital to their survival as America’s economic engine and biggest creator of jobs. NFIB’s educational mission is to remind policymakers that small businesses are not smaller versions of bigger businesses; they have very different challenges and priorities.
National Federation of Independent Business/Montana
491 South Park Ave.
Helena, MT 59601
406-443-3797
www.nfib.com/montana
Twitter: @NFIB_MT
