When a teen lands a first job, it is a huge
deal - for the whole family. Suddenly, schedules become more frantic,
there are new situations to deal with and everyone goes through a period of
adjustment. There are a lot of things to consider before agreeing to allow
your child to enter the workforce. These are a few of the areas many
parents wonder about. If you have specific concerns or questions about
your teen, please call the PVPS S.A.F.E. Prevention Counselor at your child's
school.
The Good News and the Bad News
Is Your Teen Ready?
Parent Tips: Before
& After Your Teen Takes a Job
Youth Labor Laws
Sources and resources for more information
Good News and
Bad News
Some positives from work
experience for young people include:
+ Obtaining valuable work experiences
+ Learning time
management skills
+ Forming good
work habits
+ Learning how
to effectively manage finances
+ Gaining
useful, marketable skills
+ Building self esteem
+ Developing independence and self sufficiency
But the negatives may include:
- More likely to use drugs and alcohol.
- Less time on homework.
- Less academic effort.
- Higher rates of absenteeism and less school involvement.
- Lower grades in school.
- Less time with family.
- More conflict with parents over spending decisions.
- Development of negative views of work itself.
Research shows that
many of the negative consequences young people face when they enter the
workforce stem from working too many hours. Experts recommend that teens work
no more than 15-20 hours a week while school is in session.
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Is Your Teen Ready?
Just because your child hits a magical age where he is able to get a job doesn’t
mean he is prepared for the workforce. How can you and your teen tell if the
time is right? In 1990, the Secretary of Labor formed the
Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) to discover
what skills and traits young people need to be ready for work. Some of their
findings include:
* Knowing how to allocate time and money
* Being able to participate as a member of a
team
* Exercising leadership
* Working with cultural diversity
* Information skills, including acquiring,
evaluating, organizing and sharing information
* Basic reading and math skills
* Thinking skills such as creative thinking,
decision making, problem solving and reasoning
* Personal qualities like responsibility,
self esteem, sociability, self-management and integrity.
Other skills and traits
may be also be considered necessary, depending on the position. Some that are
in high demand are communication, public speaking and computer literacy.
If your child has some
but not all the skills and traits listed, he still may be prepared for tackling
a job. Much will depend on the individual and the type of work. It is a
decision each family will need to face when they feel the time is appropriate.
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Parent Tips:
Before & After Your Teen Tales a Job
Before your child even fills out a job application:
Hold a discussion. Find out why your teen wants a job and
explain the responsibilities associated with holding down a job while in school.
Know the laws. Federal and state government regulate what kind of work
young people can do and the hours they work. (see
below)
Reach an agreement on how your teen will use the income from a job.
Saving some of the paycheck should be a priority.
Create a schedule with your teen. Block off time for homework, other
activities and family time.
Teach your teen practical ways to manage adverse situations on their jobs
as well as in school.
Most importantly, be supportive.
Once your teen lands a job:
Watch for signs of tobacco/alcohol or other drug use
Monitor your child’s school performance
Spend time together
Review any agreements you made prior to the job, discuss any changes that
need to be made and follow through.
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Youth Labor
Laws
Jobs Youth are Allowed to Perform at Specific Ages:
Under 14 – Babysitting, newspaper delivery, acting/performing. Youth
under 14 may also work in a business owned 100% by their parents, but is still
prohibited from any hazardous duties on the job.
14 & 15 Years Olds may also work in an office, grocery store, retail store,
restaurant, movie theater, baseball park, amusement park, or gas station. They
generally may not work in communications or public utilities jobs,
construction or repair jobs, driving a motor vehicle or helping a driver,
manufacturing and mining occupations, power-driven machinery or hoisting
apparatus other than typical office machines, processing occupations, public
messenger jobs, transporting of persons or property, workrooms where products
are manufactured, mined or processed, or warehousing and storage.
16 & 17 Year Olds may work in any position declared not hazardous by the
Secretary of Labor. These are considered hazardous occupations that people
under 18 can not do:
è Manufacturing and storing of explosives
è
Driving
a motor vehicle and being an outside helper on a motor vehicle
è
Coal mining
è
Logging and sawmilling
è
Power-driven woodworking
machines
è
Exposure to radioactive
substances
è
Power-driven hoisting
apparatus
è
Power-driven metal-forming,
punching, and shearing machines
è
Mining, other than coal
mining
è
Meat packing or processing
(including the use of power-driven meat slicing machines)
è
Power-driven bakery
machines
è
Power-driven paper-product
machines
è
Manufacturing brick, tile,
and related products
è
Power-driven circular saws,
band saws, and guillotine shears
è
Wrecking, demolition, and
shipbreaking operations
è
Roofing operations and all
work on or about a roof
è
Excavation operations
Hours
Maximum daily and weekly hours and days per week
Under 16: 8 hours/day – 40 hours/week during non-school periods
3 hours/day – 18 hours/week during school
No work after 10PM before a school day
16 & 17 Years old:
No state law restricts hours per day or week.
Wages
The minimum wage for covered, nonexempt employees – no matter their age – is
$5.85 per hour. That will increase to $6.55 per hour on July 24, 2008. For
young workers, however, there is an exception to the minimum wage law. State
and federal law allows employers to pay newly hired workers under the age of 20
a Youth Training Wage of $4.25 per hour during the first 90 consecutive days of
employment.
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Resources and sources:
Adolescent Employment Fact Sheet/Ohio State University
Youth@Work: Talking Safety South Dakota
Journal of Extension: Teen Employment
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission:
Youth At Work
U.S. Department of Labor
Occupational Safety & Health Administration
South Dakota Department of Labor
Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS)
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