What should you know before hiring minors?

Employers that are covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act are prohibited from employing minors at ages below those set by the law or its regulations in various types of work. While minors are not prohibited from working by the FLSA, the work they may perform is restricted by the hours that may be worked, the age that must be attained before performing a certain type of work and the nature of the work itself.

Generally, the FLSA forbids the employment of children under 14 years of age at any time. Narrowly drawn exceptions exist for children ages 14 and 15. Children must be at least 16 years old to work in manufacturing, mining and certain other businesses or occupations. Where hazardous work is involved, employment of children under 18 is prohibited.

Employers may protect themselves from unwitting violations of the child labor laws by having on file an officially executed age certificate, showing that the children they employ are "of age" and working legally.