Can I Hire My 15-Year-Old Son to Work for Me This Summery? Part 1 – Nevada State Law
When my son, now 43 years old, was 14 years old, he desperately wanted to find a job, and I was even more desperate for him to find something to occupy his time. I was so desperate that when we found out a local water slide company would hire 14-year-olds to serve up Dipin’ Dots at the park, I was jumping for joy. We came to find out he was not allowed to work more than a two-hour shift, but I was so desperate for that newfound career opportunity to launch, I was willing to drive him over to the park and two hours later go pick him up, four days a week, and while I was working. The experience has remained burned into my brain, and every time I drive by the water slide park, I wonder what I was thinking. For those of you who might be pondering potential employment opportunities for your kids, or maybe thinking of hiring kids this summer, there are some important things you need to know.
Can I hire a minor to work in my business? Does it matter if it’s a relative? Good questions, but not a simple answer. Whether you are a business owner or a Human Resource representative in charge of recruitment or hiring, you are all too familiar with the challenges you face trying to hire employees. And COVID has made things exponentially worse. With summer approaching, and employment edging toward a return to days gone by, many of you may be contemplating at least a temporary pool of employees to fill positions with students. And maybe some of them could even transition to part-time employees once school resumes in the fall. All true, but there are both state and federal laws that are very specific to hiring minors. It is critical that you are familiar with both sets of laws, even if you are looking at hiring your own teenager at your own business. This article is Part 1of a two-part article covering the ins and outs of hiring minors in Nevada. Part 1 covers state laws.
In Nevada employers can be subject to administrative fines up to $2500 per violation, as well as criminal prosecution as a misdemeanor. Federal fines and fees for noncompliance can be staggering. I recently handled a case where a very well-intentioned company owner allowed his office manager to bring her 14-year-old son to the office to work for pay in a design department because he was interested in engineering. He worked two days, eight hours each day for a total of 16 hours; he was put on the payroll like any other employee and was there with the permission of his mother, who worked in an adjoining office. The federal Department of Labor was doing an audit of books totally unrelated to this situation but noticed the name on the payroll. No other improprieties were identified in the audit of the company with hundreds of employees. The fine for the “good deed” was approximately $11,000 for this matter alone. To appeal would have cost more in attorney’s fees than the fine itself, and there were no exceptions or defenses to the violation. It was an expensive lesson for my client who learned the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished.
While there are many nuances to interpretation of child labor laws, below are some of the more generalized laws under Nevada state law. You must comply with both state and federal law. State law can be stricter than federal law but cannot be more lenient than federal law. If there is a conflict in the standards, the more restrictive standard controls.
NEVADA STATE LAW
16- And 17-Year-Olds: Nevada has very limited statutory limitations on employment of minors 16 years of age or older. Violation of these prohibitions is a misdemeanor, meaning it is a violation of criminal law. The listed prohibitions include:
- Begging, receiving alms, or in any mendicant occupation
- In any indecent or immoral exhibition or practice
- In any practice or exhibition dangerous or injurious to life, limb or health or morals
- As a messenger for delivering letters, telegrams, packages or bundles to any house of prostitution or assignation
- In any public dance hall where alcoholic beverages are dispensed; or
- In any area of a casino where there is gaming or where the sale of alcoholic beverages is the primary commercial activity unless the minor is in the casino area to provide entertainment pursuant to an employment
Under 16 Years of Age: Prohibitions include:
- The preparation of any dangerous or poisonous acids
- Manufacture of paints
- Dipping, drying or packing matches
- Manufacture of goods for immoral purposes
- Any mine or related work; tobacco warehouse; cigar factory
- Any distillery, brewery or other establishment where alcoholic liquors are manufactured, packed, wrapped or bottled
- Any glass furnace, smelter, outside erection or repair of electric wires, the running or management of elevators, lifts or hoisting machines or oiling hazardous or dangerous machinery in motion
- Switch tending, gate tending or track repair
- Any work as a brakeman, fireman, engineer, motorman or conductor upon any railroad in or about establishments where nitroglycerin or other high or dangerous explosives are manufactured, compounded or stored
- Any other employment declared by the Labor Commissioner to be dangerous
Maximum Hours Of Employment Of A Child Under 16 Years Of Age:
No child under 16 years old may be employed, permitted or suffered to work at any gainful occupation, other than as a performer in the production of a motion picture or work on a farm, more than 48 hours in any one week or more than eight hours in any one day. The presence of the child in any establishment during working hours is evidence of employment of the child.
Employment of Child Under 14 is Unlawful Without Written Permission of a Judge or Designee:
Any child under the age of 14 employed by anyone in any capacity other than farm work, housework, or employment as a performer in a motion picture, must have written permission signed by a judge of the district court of the county of the child’s residence, or signed by a juvenile master, referee or probation officer authorized to sign such a permit by a judge of the district court of the county of the child’s residence. Violation is a misdemeanor.
Employment of a Child Under 14 is Unlawful when School is in Session, except:
It is unlawful for any person to employ any child under 14 years of age in any business or service during the hours in which the public schools of the school district in which the child resides are in session unless the child has been excused from attendance by the school district or by order of the juvenile court for the purpose of employment.
Next week I will cover federal law regarding hiring minors. As I hinted above, federal law is much more complex than state law. It is critical to understand both.