On-the-Job Primer
Answers to Questions about Child Labor Rules
The following are questions and experiences you might face as a new job hunter or as someone who is currently on-the-job. The answers will help you understand and navigate the work environment.
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Q. “Why can’t young people have more hours? People’s circumstances and needs are different. (Joshua, Massachusetts)
A. Joshua, this relates to the Child Labor Rules of the FLSA or Fair Labor Standards Act. Since the priority for young adults is to attend and finish high school, and hopefully to do well in school, the Federal government regulates how many hours a business can employ a worker under 18. In fact, there are both Federal laws and state laws governing the number of hours a young adult can work. These laws regulate how many hours a student can work both during the week, and on the weekends, and regulates how late students can work at night jobs. There are rules for those under 16, and for those 16 and 17.
These rules are to protect young people, and employers who don’t follow these rules can be fined. If you want to see more about Massachusetts laws governing hours of work, you can visit: www.dol.gov/esa.
If you need to make more money, and need more hours of work, you can think about supplementing your work by asking neighbors if they need help in their house, or with their yard, or babysitting, or picking up groceries, or other type of work for which you will be paid by the hour. Remember that no one should give you very heavy work, or have you operate dangerous or heavy machinery if you are under 18 years of age.
Q. “How come you can’t get jobs if you’re younger than 16?”
(Chelsea, Massachusetts)
A. Chelsea, in the early 1900’s, there were no laws regulating the age or the number of hours children could work. As a result, there were many businesses that would exploit children. Depending on family circumstances, children could be sent to work at a very young age and worked long hours to the detriment of their health and education. Eventually, the Federal Government stepped in and created what is now known as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This Act regulates many things about the workplace, but it includes what they call “Child Labor Rules” that govern the ages and hours young adults can work.
At the present time, you can work in some jobs at age 14 and 15. These types of jobs include working in retail stores and food service establishments. In these places of business, you can do things like: bagging and carrying out customer orders, cashiering, some light clean-up work such as vacuuming, and light yard work. You cannot work with heavy equipment, or do heavy loading, or warehouse work, except if it is clerical type work.
Once again, the purpose of restricting work for 14 and 15 year olds, is to protect you. That’s why most 14 and 15 year olds that work do things like babysitting, or light yard work for money.
If you want more information on the Child Labor Rules, you can visit: www.dol.gov/elaws and read all of the specific things that these rules cover. It is actually very interesting.
Q.“Why can’t young people get paid on their experience and not their age?
(Alex, Massachusetts)
Alex, employers should pay employees based on their education and experience. If you are in high school, or just started college, your experience will still be rather limited, even if you have worked for several years. However, if you have done well in school, and are a quick learner, employers should challenge you if they can with more advanced work. If you are doing more and more complex work in your job, you should be compensated more than someone who just started in the job.
As you know, there are many types of jobs and employers who compensate people differently. However, there are general standards on what particular jobs pay for people with different types of experience. If you are working part-time in a large company, you will be paid more than if you worked in a local retail store. Pay scales vary widely for people of all ages and experience.
If you feel you are not getting paid fairly, you can speak with your supervisor about what you would need to do to get paid more. But approach your supervisor in a very professional manner with this question, and only if you honestly feel you have been a reliable and dedicated employee, always finishing your work on time. You can ask him or her if there is more challenging work for you to do if you feel you are not challenged enough. If you do more challenging work, you should get paid a little more for doing it.
While everyone wants to make the most money they can make, remember that at this stage of your life, experience in the workplace is more important than what you make. It is the experience you are gaining each day in the workplace that will eventually lead you to a better job with more pay.