teen working stock photo summer job employment

In light of a recent investigation into a Madison car wash accused of using child labor, officials are again warning businesses of the laws regarding minors working in Alabama.

With few exceptions, teens are allowed to work in the state starting at age 14, according to the Alabama Department of Labor. With school out for the summer, businesses are able to fill short-time seasonal positions for lifeguards, child care or retail.

In the case of On The Spot Car Wash and Auto Detail on U.S. 72 in Athens, media outlets reported footage from a customer’s dash camera showing children under the age limit washing cars. The business is allegedly being investigated to determine if child labor laws were violated.

Employers who wish to hire children between ages 14 and 17 must have a Child Labor Certificate from ADOL. The certificate, which can be obtained online, allows a business to employ as many teens as they need for an entire year, according to ADOL.

“Now that school is out for the summer, a lot of teens are looking for summer jobs, and many employers need seasonal employees,” said Fitzgerald Washington, secretary of ADOL.

However, Washington said there are sometimes misperceptions as to what teens of legal age to work can do.

“We’d like to make sure that employers are aware of Alabama’s Child Labor laws,” Washington said.

For each teen hired, an employer should be able to easily access government-issued proof of age, such as a copy of the teen’s driver’s license, learner’s permit, birth certificate, student ID or similar proof issued by a city, county, state or federal agency. There should also be a note made of where the teen goes to school.

Fourteen- and 15-year-olds must be regularly attending school with decent grades, according to ADOL. The school must provide them with a statement of eligibility to work, which can be printed from the ADOL website.

Types of work

There are several rules regarding which kinds of work a teen may be hired to perform, and some of them change during summer. More information can be found at bit.ly/ADOL-ChildLabor, but here are some of the basic guidelines for summer hires from ADOL:

• No hour restrictions for 16- and 17-year-olds when school is not in session, including no break law and no maximum number of hours;

• Fourteen- and 15-year-olds may only work between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. when school is not in session. They must have a 30-minute break if they work more than five hours and cannot work more than eight hours per day, six days per week or 40 hours per week;

• Fourteen- and 15-year-olds are not allowed to work in any manufacturing or mechanical establishment, cannery, mill, workshop, warehouse or machine shop. They also cannot work where alcohol is consumed on premises or in the building trades unless they are the children or immediate family of the owner or operator and their work involves nonhazardous duties;

• No one under 18 can work in roofing operations, slaughtering, butchering or meat-cutting. They also cannot operate power-driven woodworking, metal-cutting or industrial bakery equipment, with some exceptions for a Career Tech program; and

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

Agricultural work is exempt from the Alabama Child Labor Law. Minors of any age can work outside of formal employment, including as babysitters, lawn mowers, tutors, computer programmers and even lemonade stand vendors. ADOL does not cover work that teens perform at their own homes.