Child Labor Law
Employees Ages 16 and 17: Typically, minors who are 16 and 17 years old may perform any non-hazardous job, for unlimited hours. One exception to this rule is in the case of driving automobiles or trucks on public roadways.
General Guideline for Hours of Work:
- Permitted Hours for age 16-17
- A high school student under the age of 18 may not work after 11:00 PM onan evening before a school day or before 5:00 a.m. on a school day.
- Overnight weekend hours are permitted, however, as long as the final shift ends by 11:00 PM on Sunday night.
- *Waiver requirements for Self-administered Services do not permit anyone under the age of 16 to be employed.*
- Waiver requirements for Self-administered Services do not permit anyone under the age of 18 to provide transportation.*
Recruiting and Interviewing
When interviewing candidates for hire, please be careful about the questions you ask of the candidate. Questions should only focus on job related duties and responsibilities and the candidate’s ability to perform those duties and responsibilities. No questions can be asked that relate to the candidate’s personal information or any of the candidate’s characteristics which are protected by law. (See Sample Interview questions below)
During the interview, topics that relate to any of the following should be avoided: age, date of birth, employment history further back than the five previous years, marital status (this includes whether an applicant is married, divorced, separated, widowed or in the process of having a marriage annulled or dissolved or the identity of one’s current or former spouse, including whether the spouse is an Employee of the employer), sex, race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disabilities, or date of military discharge.
It is also inappropriate to ask prospective Employees any questions related to the following: children (including whether or not he or she has children or if they intend to have any), dates of graduation, medical history (including diseases, mental conditions, drug or alcohol problems, hospitalizations, physical impairments, medications, workers compensation, and absences), or financial status.
Sample Interview Questions
- 1. How did you become interested in working with persons with (type of population)?
- Describe your work experience/education/training that you feel is related to this job.
- Describe the consumers you have worked with and what types of disabilities they had.
- 2. Why are you interested in working with individuals with (type of population)
- 3. What do you think are some good qualities of a staff person?
- 4. What do you feel is the most challenging responsibility about working with individuals with disabilities?
- 5. What types of individuals are you the most comfortable working with? Why?
- 6. What types of individuals are you the least comfortable working with? Why
- 7. Give an example of:
- An incident in which an individual you were working with had a verbal outburst, either directed towards you or someone else.
- An incident in which an individual you were working with had a physical aggression, either directed towards you or someone else and how you handled it.
- A time you had to problem solve or make a decision independently and were held accountable for this.
- 8. Describe how you prepare for the unexpected when working with someone with a disability.
- 9. What specific days and shifts are you available to work? How many hours are you interested in working per week?
- 10. When would you be available to start?
- 11. Do you have any questions?
At the end of an interview, it is important to give the applicant a thorough description of the job, including work schedule, description of individual they may be working with, position expectations, benefits, it any, and compensation. Please note that when interviewing a prospective employee, you must only ask question which reasonable relate to the job in question. You must NOT request information that is not job related or that might reveal an applicant’s protected status.
Topics that must be avoided:
- Age, date of birth or employment history further back than the previous five years.
- Marital status.
- Sex, race, creed, color, religion, national origin or excusal orientation.
- Height or weight.
- Number of children, plans for having children, daycare arrangements.
- Questions related to health, physical or mental disabilities.
- Arrest records.
- Credit references.