School’s out for summer, and that means more teenagers are available for summer work. The hiring of teenagers can provide great opportunities for both employers and employees, but the Alabama Department of Labor and Alabama Career Center System wants businesses and workers alike to know the rules of seasonal teenage employment beforehand.

“With the summer season quickly approaching, we have businesses who need to fill a lot of seasonal positions,” said Fitzgerald Washington, secretary of ADOL. “… There are sometimes misperceptions as to what sorts of jobs teens can legally do, and we’d like to make sure employers are aware of Alabama’s child labor laws.”

In Alabama, teens as young as 14 can be employed, though employers must obtain a child labor certificate from ADOL. One certificate allows a business to employ as many teens as they need for an entire year.

However, the rules for teenagers vary based on their age, which is why many places start hiring at 16.

“We can hire 14- and 15-year-olds, but the labor laws have gotten so strict,” Chick-fil-A manager Jessica Steele said. “They can only work three hours a day, they’re not supposed to get on a ladder, they can’t go in the fridge, and they can’t work with sharp objects.”

Teenagers at that age are also unable to go outside, Steele said. This poses a problem for Chick-fil-A, which sometimes requires employees to go outside for “face-to-face drive-thru.”

Athens Parks and Recreation also starts hiring at 16. Jobs for teens there include lifeguard at the pool, grounds maintenance, keeping score at sports events or operating the concession stand.

“There’s opportunity to get out, generate income, get some money maybe for college or help Mom and Dad out, be a part of the community, give back to the community …” said Ben Wiley, director of Athens Parks and Recreation.

There’s also opportunity to learn life skills. Steele said they enjoy working with teenagers and being able to help them develop their multitasking, customer service and hospitality skills.

“It’s good for teenagers to learn at a young age,” she said. “… I had an outpatient surgery, and my nurse was someone who worked at Chick-fil-A, and he was so nice. He had the best customer service of any nurse that’s taken care of me.”

Basic rules for hiring teens

The ADOL provided the following basic rules for employing teens:

• Sixteen- and 17-year-olds have no hour restrictions when school is in session;

• Fourteen- and 15-year-olds may work between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. during months school is not in session. They may work no more than eight hours per day, 40 hours per week or six days per week. A 30-minute break is required if the teen works more than five hours;

• Fourteen- and 15-year-olds should not work in connection with any manufacturing or mechanical establishment, cannery, mill, workshop, warehouse or machine shop;

• Fourteen- and 15-year-olds should not work in the building trades, unless they are immediate family of the contractor and the work is nonhazardous;

• Fourteen- and 15-year-olds should not work where alcohol is consumed on premises unless they are the children of the owner or operator;

• No one under 18 should work in or in connection with roofing operations;

• No one under 18 should operate power-driven woodworking, metal cutting or industrial bakery equipment. Contact ADOL for exceptions;

• No one under 18 should work in slaughtering, butchering or meat-cutting.

• Agricultural work is exempt from Alabama Child Labor Law;

• Minors of any age may engage in work outside of formal employment, such as babysitting, lawn mowing, tutoring, computer programming and even lemonade stands;

• ADOL does not cover work performed by a teen at their own home; but

• If employment is dangerous to life or limb or injurious to the health or morals of teen, then it is probably prohibited.

For more information, contact the Child Labor Division of ADOL at 334-956-7390 or child.labor@labor.alabama.gov. Information is also available online at https://bit.ly/ALChildLaborDivision.