In recent years, some states have started rolling back restrictions on the age at which children can legally be employed. They’ve also relaxed restrictions on how many and what hours they can work and what kind of work they can do.
At the beginning of this year, Indiana law was revised to relax child labor (or “youth employment” as the state now calls it) restrictions. This comes after a few years of increasing employer violations. Let’s look at some of the key changes that became effective Jan. 1.
Regulations lifted for older teens who are still minors
There are no longer special restrictions on the number of hours or times of day 16- and 17-year-old employees can work. They can now legally work the same hours as adults. Parental permission is not required.
These older teens can also now work in agricultural environments, like farms, without any restrictions on potentially dangerous jobs. Further, no adult supervision is required for any particular tasks.
What about younger teens?
The regulations for 14- and 15-year-olds haven’t changed – at least not yet. Their work hours are still limited to 3 hours per day and 18 hours per week while school is in session. These go up to 8 hours a day and 40 per week on non-school days and vacations. The hours they can work remain the same, at 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on school days and until 9 p.m. on non-school days.
These teens are also still prohibited from working in hazardous jobs. These include everything from driving a vehicle to cooking and more.
Penalties for violations relaxed or eliminated
Employers will no longer be fined if a minor works 10 minutes or less over their permitted number of hours. For repeated and longer hours violations, they can receive warnings and potentially be assessed small fines.
It’s critical for parents of teens to know what the work restrictions are for their children and help ensure that their employers aren’t violating those restrictions. Even older teens who are now subject to the same laws as adults can be taken advantage of if they don’t know their rights (or their employers don’t).
It’s important to remember that Indiana employers must abide by federal child labor laws as well. They also still have a duty to protect all employees, regardless of age, from unnecessary risks. If an employer remains in violation of the law even after they’ve been made aware of the violation(s), getting legal guidance may be necessary.
