Understanding Child Labor Laws in California

Before you bring teenagers on board to your company in California, you had better know the applicable rules and laws on child labor. For starters, you need to familiarize yourself with the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which is the regulatory body for working minors. Some of the restrictions in play include the kind of industries minors can work and how many hours they can put into work in a day/week.

Necessary Work Permit  

For minors, a work permit must be issued by the school. However, this law is only applicable to teenagers under 18 years and who have not yet graduated from high school. To get this permit, both the minor and the potential employer must fill out a form. It becomes binding after being signed by the company and the minor’s parents.

The form is then returned to the school to decide whether to or not issue the work permit. This is in line with the public policy that gives first priority to the minors’ education.

Minor Wages

The federal labor law requires companies to pay an “opportunity wage” to employees who are not yet 20 years. Opportunity wage is less than the minimum legal wage and is paid for the first 90 days of work. California does not abide into such a provision. California employers are required to pay learners up to 85% of minimum wage for the first 160 hours of work for child labor. Here a learner refers to an employee of any age but without prior knowledge of the job at hand.

In cases where the above two provisions do not apply; a minor is legally entitled to earn $10.50 per hour, which is the state’s full minimum wage. Where both provisions apply, the teenager is entitled to the learners wage for the first 160 hours. After that, he/she should get the full state minimum wage.

Working Hours Per Day

Minors in California cannot work for unlimited hours. The California child labor law has limited working hours for minors as follows:

• 14-15 age bracket- For those who have reached 7th grade, they can work during school days. They are available for 3 hours in a day and a maximum of 18 hours in a week during school days. During holidays and summer vacation, they can work for a maximum of 8 hours a day and 40 hours in a week.
• 16-17 age bracket- They can work for 4 hours in a day and 48 hours in a week during school days. When school is not in session, they can work for 8 hours a day and 48 hours in a week.

Kind of Work Allowed

Teenagers under 14 years have a restriction on the kind of jobs they can do. They are legally allowed to perform odd home jobs and delivering newspapers. Those above 14 years can do a variety of jobs. They can work in retail stores, offices and food services. However, they are not allowed to partake in hazardous jobs like manufacturing, loading, machine-driven, and the entire cadre of such jobs.