As teenagers begin their quests for financial independence, understanding their rights and protections can assist them in gaining respect in the workplace. Particularly for new workers, who certain employers may seek to take advantage of, avoiding exploitative situations through understanding these laws can help ensure that each person gains appropriate pay and workplace respect. As teens work, typically in customer-facing positions, these six laws can guide them as they face a new era.
“[It’s important for teens to know these laws] so they don’t get taken advantage of and they know their legal protections and rights. I think discrimination laws and hours [are the most important to know], so just knowing about your protections against discrimination in the workplace and knowing your protections against the hours you’re required to work and how late you are expected to work; are good things to know. I think the first thing [a teen who feels an employer isn’t following the law should do] would be to talk to the adults in your home, ask them for support and speak to them about whether you should go to the manager,” Advanced Placement (AP) Microeconomics teacher Tara Sisino said.
Hourly limits for workers under 16 years old
To avoid a minor’s job interfering with his or her school life, local and federal governments restrict the hours younger students can work. While the laws grow looser in the summer, those under the age of 16 can only work between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. and 18 hours per week during school’s operative times. These guidelines remain under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a law that any member of the workforce should seek to understand to avoid overscheduling and underpaying.
While there remains debate about the federal minimum wage’s effectiveness, especially in states such as Georgia which have not joined other parts of the country in raising it, knowing what a business must pay can assist a person in his or her job search. In Georgia, in accordance with FLSA, employers must pay non-tipped workers at least $7.25 per hour and tipped workers at least $2.13. If one receives the minimum wage for a tipped position but does not receive enough tips over the hours worked to meet the hourly $7.25 mark, the employer must pay the difference. One should bear in mind, however, that any entry-level job will likely offer more than this due to competition for workers.
As any American history student likely knows, 1964’s Civil Rights Act protects people from discriminatory hiring practices based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. Over time, various accompanying federal laws have protected people from job rejections and questions regarding old age, ethnicity, pregnancy, disability, genetics, sexual orientation and gender identity. Should an interviewer ask questions on these topics or one notices how the answers affect hiring or continued work, opting not to work with the company and reporting one’s concerns may retain advisability.
When, for a non-discriminatory reason, a business feels it should not serve a particular customer who may endanger someone, that business can ask that customer to leave. While anti-discriminatory law generally requires clear policies about who a business will not serve, generally, if a customer contributes to an unsafe environment, asking him or her to leave stands as valid. This right extends to any worker in the business considering he or she likely faces the brunt force of a customer’s action. If a person genuinely displays a risk of injuring another person in the business, a worker should not hesitate to keep those people and himself or herself safe.
While the laws relating to whether an employer must pay for training remain clouded, common law generally upholds that employers should pay for training. If an individual completes training as part of a job application process, they rarely must receive pay unless they complete work which the business will profit from. If an already-hired employee completes involuntary, typical work-hour, job-related or productive training, the employer must compensate the worker.
The federal and state minimum work ages differ by two years, where the U.S. requires children to reach the age of 14 to attain jobs, while Georgia requires one to reach only 12. Generally, the federal government’s FLSA presides over the state in this situation, but in jobs that FLSA exempts from the law, such as family-owned businesses, certain agricultural work or newspaper delivery, the Georgia 12-year-old limit maintains its standing.
Whether a worker never must stand up for his or her rights or regularly does so, understanding each law that protects workers can guide them in their first job, and those which follow. Avoiding sticky situations will provide improved experiences in the workforce and hopefully superior luck moving upward in it.
