Young people in the workplace have certain laws in place in order to protect them, but they are also subject to lower minimum wage requirements because of their lack of experience and to increase their employability.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is in place to protect employees and keep regulations consistent throughout the United States. It is important, therefore, that employers in the state of Pennsylvania understand exactly what the FLSA demands of them so that they do not make any mistakes that could lead to expensive litigation.
What wage do I need to pay young employees?
There are minimum wage laws in place for employees of all ages; however, the minimum wage requirement can differ depending on what age a child is. In order to encourage the employment of young people, employers can pay workers under the age of 20 a minimum wage of $4.25 per hour.
However, the FLSA does not want this incentive to lead to employers terminating the employment of workers over the age of 20 in order to benefit from the lowered minimum wage. Therefore, this type of behavior is unlawful.
At what age can a child be legally employed?
As long as the type of labor is not considered to be hazardous, children can be legally employed from the age of 16 under the FLSA. However, the FLSA is not applied to all professions; children may be employed as models or actors, for example.
If you have questions or concerns about employing young people in the state of Pennsylvania, it is important that you understand what actions are within the law.