CARSON CITY — The representative association for the people most likely to offer summer jobs to the young issued a short checklist, today, to parents and employers to keep things legal, including some information specific to Nevada.
The National Federation of Independent Business, America’s voice of small business, with 325,000 dues-paying members, including 1,500 in Nevada, recommended employers and parents take stock of the following:
The rules apply to them. Just because they’re in school doesn’t mean employers can take advantage of them. Minors are entitled to the same minimum wage, overtime, and safety and health protections as adults. When it comes to work, the federal wage and hour law, officially known as the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, applies to everyone, regardless of age. Other federal and state workplace laws apply to them, to.
Students 13 and younger have limited options when it comes to summer jobs. Federal law says they’re too young for most non-farming jobs, such as working in a store or restaurant, but there are still jobs they can do. They’re allowed to babysit and perform minor chores around a private home, and if you own a business, they’re allowed to work for you.
If they’re 14 or 15, their prospects are better. Students in this age bracket are allowed to perform jobs such as bagging groceries, waiting tables and working in an office, but they can’t use power-driven machinery, such as lawn mowers, lawn trimmers, and weed cutters. They also aren’t allowed to work more than 40 hours a week, or 8 hours in one day. In Nevada, they are not allowed to work in a brewery or any place that makes or packages alcohol.
If they’re 16 or 17, they’re allowed to work up a sweat and earn serious money. There’s no limit to the number of hours 16- and 17-year-olds can work, and they’re allowed to work basically any job that isn’t declared hazardous, provided all other FLSA and state labor requirements are met.
If they’re 18 or older, legally, they’re adults. It doesn’t matter that they’re still in school. In the eyes of the law, they’re grown up, and that means they can do pretty much any job for which they’re qualified.
In Nevada, minors under 18 may not work in a casino area where there is gaming or in any place where the sale of alcoholic beverages is the primary commercial activity, unless the minor is providing entertainment pursuant to an employment contract. Minors under 18 must receive judicial approval of contracts for creative or athletic services, or intellectual property.
More information can be found on this video by Beth Milito, senior counsel at NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center.
