MONTGOMERY – With schools letting out for the summer, many businesses may consider hiring teens for seasonal employment. Hiring teens can be beneficial for both the employer and the worker. Part-time or summer jobs can provide teens with great opportunities for learning important life skills and acquiring hands-on experience, while at the same time earning spending money. Businesses can fill short-time seasonal jobs with workers who are only available for a limited period, and can provide training to workers.
“With the summer season quickly approaching, we have many businesses who need to fill a lot of seasonal positions,” said Fitzgerald Washington, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Labor. “Some of those positions can be filled by teens who are out of school for the summer. There are sometimes misperceptions as to what sorts of jobs teens can legally do, and we’d like to make sure that employers are aware of Alabama’s Child Labor laws. Teens can work as lifeguards, in childcare, in retail and clerical positions and those 16 and over can even work in welding.”
Teens are allowed to work at age 14 in Alabama. Employers who want to hire teens aged 14-17 must obtain a Child Labor Certificate from the Alabama Department of Labor (ADOL). The certificates can be obtained online at: https://www.labor.alabama.gov/uc/ChildLabor/forms.aspx. One certificate allows a business to employ as many teens as they need for an entire year.
The Employer should have ready access to a government issued proof of age (driver’s license, learner’s permit, birth certificate, student ID, or any other city, county, state, or federal document). The employer should also document where the teen goes to school. This information may be kept on a computer, smart phone, or in printed format. If not listed on the identification, please document the worker’s address, telephone number, and date of hire. ADOL has a one- page Employee Information Form that can be helpful in maintaining this information.
Teens aged 14 or 15 are required to have been in regular attendance and making satisfactory grades in school. They may obtain a statement of Eligibility to Work from their public school. Private and Homeschool students may print the form from the ADOL website.
Agricultural work is exempt from Alabama Child Labor Law. Minors of any age may engage in work outside of formal employment such as babysitting, lawn mowing, tutoring, computer programming, and even lemonadstands. ADOL does not cover work that a teen performs at their own home.
Here are some basic rules for employing teens:
• 16 and 17-year-olds have no hour restrictions when school is not in session. There is no maximum number of hours. There is no break law for this age group.
• 14 and 15-year-olds may work between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. during months that school is not in session. They may work no more than eight hours per day or 40 hours per week, and no more than six days per week. This age group is required to have a 30-minute break if they work more than five hours.
• 14 and 15-year-olds should not work in connection within any manufacturing or mechanical establishment, cannery, mill, workshop, warehouse, or machine shop.
• 14 and 15-year-olds should not work in the building trades, unless they are the immediate family of the contractor and their work involves nonhazardous duties.
• 14 and 15-year-olds should not work where alcohol is consumed on premises unless they are the children of the owner or operator.
• No one under 18 should work on or in connection with roofing operations.
• No one under 18 should operate power driven woodworking, metal cutting, or industrial bakery equipment. There are exceptions for this if the student is involved in a Career Tech program, contact DOL for further info.
• No person under 18 should work in slaughtering, butchering, or meat cutting.
If the employment is dangerous to life or limb or injurious to the health or morals of teen then it is probably prohibited. *For a complete list of prohibited occupations, please consult the ADOL website.
ADOL staff are available to assist employers in making sure that they are safely employing teens. Child Labor personnel are also available at no cost for training any individual, organization, or employer.
For more information, please visit: https://www.labor.alabama.gov/uc/ChildLabor/child-labor.aspx or contact the Child Labor Division at 334-956-7390 or child.labor@labor.alabama.gov.
Media Release/Tara Hutchison, Communications Director/Alabama Department of Labor
