Summer Jobs and Child Labor Laws

School is ending and summer is here. For many young people this means finding a summer job. If you are under 18, you will need to obtain a work permit from your Superintendent of Schools. The Department of Labor has a chart of how the process operates. There are restrictions to the types of tasks you can do. For example if you are under 16 you cannot:

• work on ladders
• operate fryolaters
• work in barbershops

If you are under 18 you cannot:

• handle, serve or sell alcoholic beverages
• drive a vehicle or forklift
• work 30 feet or more above ground or water

A full list is available here.

As an employer, you are required to keep the original work permit on file at the place of employment as long as the minor is employed at that location or until the minor reaches the age of 18. If the minor has been terminated or quits, the employer has 2 days to return the permit to the superintendent. The work permit cannot be transferred between jobs. The process has to be started again for a minor to get a work permit.

For further discussion take a look at our page on child labor. The Attorney General has a very good guide for working teens.