Get Set for Summer: 8 Things Hospitality Employers Should Know About Hiring Teens this Season | JD Supra

Important Things to Know About Hiring Minors in the Hospitality Industry

Many employers in the hospitality industry are ramping up their hiring efforts as they get ready for their busiest season. Whether you’re operating a restaurant, hotel, swim club, tourist attraction, or other business that’s preparing for the summer surge, you’re likely looking to hire teenagers to meet the uptick in demand —making now a good time for a refresher on federal and state child labor laws. Here are eight important things you should know about hiring minors to ensure compliance and help facilitate a successful summer season.

1. Both Federal and State Restrictions May Apply

Both federal and state laws restrict the time of day and number of hours that minors can work, the type of work that minors can perform, and the equipment they can use. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) governs child labor but allows states to enact more restrictive laws, so you must be aware of any local restrictions as well. In situations where the federal law and state law differ, you must follow the law that provides the most protection for the minor.

2. Older Teens Have More Flexibility

As you may know, workers who are at least 18 years old have no restrictions on the type of work they may perform or their work hours. Minors, however, are generally restricted under federal and state laws from working excessive hours or in certain occupations. Those restrictions depend on the age of the employee.

Hours Worked

Under the FLSA, minors aged 16 and 17 can be employed for unlimited hours in any occupation other than those deemed hazardous by the Secretary of Labor. This is an area where some state laws differ. For example, Indiana, California, Kentucky, and Ohio have restrictions on the number of hours and times of days this age group may work.

Notably, while Florida imposes more limits than federal law for this age group, state lawmakers recently eased some restrictions. You can read more here about the new Florida law, which takes effect on July 1.

Hazardous Occupations

The FLSA prohibits minors aged 16 and 17 from working in certain hazardous occupations, including those involving manufacturing or storing explosives, driving a motor vehicle (except in limited circumstances for 17-year-olds), mining, forestry service, roofing, and more. A full list of the current occupations declared hazardous by the Secretary of Labor can be found here.

There are limited exemptions for a few of the hazardous occupations for 16- and 17-year-olds who are apprentices or student-learners enrolled in approved programs.

3. Younger Minors Have More Restrictions

You should recognize that minors under age 16 have even more work restrictions. Here are some of the key areas you’ll need to pay close attention to.

Hours Worked

Children aged 14 and 15 are limited in the days and hours they can work as follows:

• The work must be outside school hours.
• They can work no more than three hours on a school day, including Fridays, and no more than eight hours on a non-school day.
• They can work no more than 18 hours in a week when school is in session and no more than 40 hours in a week when school is not in session.
• They cannot work before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m., except from June 1 through Labor Day when they may work until 9 p.m.

Hazardous Occupations

In addition to Hazardous Occupations restrictions for older teens, minors aged 14 and 15 are prohibited from working in a number of tasks that are relevant to the hospitality industry. Here are just a few examples of off-limits work:

• Cooking, except limited circumstances. For example, 14- and 15-year-olds may cook using electric or gas grilles that do not involve cooking over an open flame, and they may use deep fat fryers that are equipped with and utilize devices that automatically lower and raise the baskets into and out of the oil or grease. Notably, this age group may not cook with NEICO broilers, high speed ovens, rapid broilers, fryolators, rotisseries, pressure cookers, or over open flames.
• Baking. This age group may not perform any part of the baking process, such as weighing and mixing ingredients; placing or assembling products in pans or on trays; operating ovens, including convections ovens, toaster ovens, pizza ovens, automatic feeding ovens, and microwave ovens (except certain microwave ovens used for warming food); removing items from ovens; placing items on cooling trays; and finishing baked products.
• Work in freezers and meat coolers.
• Using power-driven meat processing machines.
• Working in boiler or engine rooms, including for repair and maintenance.
• Operating – or even setting up, cleaning, or repairing – machinery like lawn mowers, golf carts, all-terrain vehicles, trimmers, or food processors.
• Using ladders or scaffolds.
• Loading and unloading goods onto motor vehicles, railroad cars, or conveyors.
• Lifeguarding at a natural environment such as a lake, river, ocean beach, quarry, pond (swimming pools and waterparks are also off-limits for 14-year-olds).

Limited exceptions to these prohibitions may be available for children enrolled in an approved Work Experience and Career Exploration Program or Work-Study Program. A complete list of off-limits jobs is available here.

List of Approved Jobs

Under federal child labor regulations, youth ages 14 -15 may generally perform only the following duties:

• Bagging and carrying out customer’s orders.
• Cashiering, selling, advertising, window trimming, or comparative shopping.
• Clean-up work and grounds maintenance — the young worker
  

  SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Analysis

  1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

  • SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • SDG 4: Quality Education

  The article discusses child labor laws and restrictions related to hiring minors, which are directly connected to SDG 8’s goal of promoting decent work and economic growth. Additionally, the article mentions the importance of education and work permits for minors, which aligns with SDG 4’s goal of ensuring quality education.

  2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

  • SDG 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor.
  • SDG 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs, and entrepreneurship.

  The article addresses the target of eradicating the worst forms of child labor (SDG 8.7) by providing information on child labor laws and restrictions. It also indirectly relates to the target of increasing relevant skills for employment (SDG 4.4) by mentioning the importance of work permits and age certificates for minors.

  3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

  Yes, there are indicators mentioned in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets. These include:

  • Number of hours and times of days minors can work
  • Types of work and occupations minors are restricted from
  • Availability and compliance with work permits and age certificates
  • Provision of appropriate meal and rest breaks for minor employees
  • Compliance with child labor laws and regulations

  These indicators can be used to assess progress in eradicating the worst forms of child labor (SDG 8.7) and increasing the number of youth with relevant skills for employment (SDG 4.4).

  Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

  SDGs	Targets	Indicators
  SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth	Target 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor.	– Number of hours and times of days minors can work – Types of work and occupations minors are restricted from – Compliance with child labor laws and regulations
  SDG 4: Quality Education	Target 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs, and entrepreneurship.	– Availability and compliance with work permits and age certificates – Provision of appropriate meal and rest breaks for minor employees

  Copyright: Dive into this article, curated with care by SDG Investors Inc. Our advanced AI technology searches through vast amounts of data to spotlight how we are all moving forward with the Sustainable Development Goals. While we own the rights to this content, we invite you to share it to help spread knowledge and spark action on the SDGs.

  Fuente: jdsupra.com

   

  

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