State and Federal Regulations for Summer Jobs

Here comes summer. It is time for some teenagers to go to the workforce to earn some money.
Companies who hire teenagers should be highly aware that state and federal law restricts the use of minors. Every company should be clear about this labor law poster requirement.

State and federal law apply to “minors.” According to the California Labor Code, minors refer to people under the age of 18 who are required to attend school. The definition also includes people under age 18 who are not required to attend school because they are not California residents. The definition also covers any child under the age of six.

A person under the age of 18 but has graduate from high school or the equivalent is not a minor according to this definition as he is not required to go to school. So the child labor laws would not apply.

Work permits are required to employ “minors” under the age of 18. Generally, permits can be obtained from the student’s school. Schools are not permitted to issue permits for children under age 12, but under federal law it is generally impermissible to employ an individual under age 14. The documents are usually issued from the superintendent’s office, or by the superintendent’s designated representative.

You should know that work permits have its expiration, so it is important to know the effective dates. Permits issued during the school year expire at the start of the next school year. That is to say, if you would love to hire a teenager for another school term, you need to obtain a new permit


To comply with Labor Code requirement, the school district’s permit form includes the following information: the minor’s name, age, birth date, address, telephone number, and social security number. The permit must be signed by both the issuing school representative and the student.

Let’s take a look at some details about the work time by the California Education Code.
Minors age 16 or 17 cannot work more than 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week. They may work as early as 5:00 a.m. or as late as 12:30 a.m. as long as there is no school the following day.

Not all the occupations are allowed for child labor. Children of certain ages are prohibited from working in a number of hazardous jobs, for example, a number of manufacturing, industrial, and construction occupations, as well as driving a motor vehicle.
So before hiring a minor, you should make it clear that weather state and federal law permit the child to work the occupation.