Summer hiring season is almost here! Time to plan for employing minors

With summer approaching, many employers will be turning their attention to staffing up for the season. The summer workforce includes a substantial number of minors. So, this is a good time to consider the issues involved with hiring minor employees.

Let’s start with regulations

Of course, most employers are already aware that just about every state, as well as the federal government, regulates the employment of minors. Regulations govern the minimum age for employment of minors, the hours they can work, permission they must obtain, and hazardous occupations they are disqualified from filling.

Summaries of these regulations are readily obtainable on the internet. For example, West Virginia provides FAQ’s at https://labor.wv.gov/Wage-Hour/Child_Labor/Pages/Child-Labor-FAQs.aspx. Tennessee offers a summary at https://www.tn.gov/workforce/employees/labor-laws/labor-laws-redirect/child-labor.html. Western Kentucky University provides a chart at https://www.wku.edu/hr/policies/kychildlaborlaws.pdf.

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