Delaware Employment Law Blog

Teen job applicants are coming to a workplace near you. As the school year winds down, here is a refresher on the legal limits Delaware employers should understand when hiring youths. Delaware employers must abide by both state and federal child labor laws. In addition, unlike most civil rights statutes, almost all employers, regardless of size, must comply with these laws - even family businesses, with some limited exceptions.

Limitations on scope of work performed

Federal and state laws and regulations operate together to impose a complex set of limitations on employing minors (children under 18 years of age). There are prohibitions on the type of work minors may perform as well as the number of permissible hours they may work. Permissible work for employees between the ages of 14 and 18 encompasses work in retail, food service, and gasoline stations (as long as they don't have a significant repair facility).

Hours of work

Minors under the age of 16 cannot work more than 4hours per day when school is in session, 8 hours per day when school is not in session, 18 hours per week when school is in session for a full week, or six days per week.

In addition, they cannot work before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m., with the exception that they may work until 9 p.m. from June 1 to Labor Day. Minors under the age of 18 must have at least 8 consecutive hours of nonwork time per day and cannot spend more than 12 hours in a combination of school and work hours per day.

No minor may work more than 5 hours continuously without a half-hour break.

Employment certificate

Every employee under the age of 18 must have an employment certificate. The certificates are issued by the Delaware Department of Labor (DDOL) and the superintendent or authorized designee of each school district. You must keep such certificates on file and make them accessible to the DDOL on request. The DDOL offers a sample certificate

Workers' compensation may not protect you

It's also worth noting that illegally employed minors who are injured on the job are not necessarily limited to their workers' compensation remedies. A minor or his or her estate may elect to sue under a theory of negligence and/or wrongful death in the event of a serious or fatal injury rather than pursue workers' compensation remedies. Accordingly, the risk of employing a minor illegally lies not only in incurring civil penalties and damage to reputation, but also in significant increases for potential personal injury liability.

Don't Get Schooled

Many employers find out about child labor laws the hard way: They get sued for thousands of dollars in civil fines. Don't be one of them. Conduct your own child labor audit and contact the DDOL or your legal counsel if you have any questions about compliance.

Summer means an influx of teen workers for many employers. Teen employees bring with them a unique set of legal issues of which businesses should be aware. Here are some ways to get ready for this year’s youth initiative.

Department of Labor

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has published a web page that’s loaded with information and suggestions to help employers keep their teen-aged workers safe and to keep themselves in compliance with child labor laws this summer. Not all employers are aware of state and federal restrictions on the activities in which teens are permitted to engage at work. Alert employers will want to review this page, click on the links, and plan the steps they will take to decrease the risk that their teen employees will be injured at work.

The Delaware Department of Labor (DDOL) also has information about state child labor laws available in booklet form. A brief summary is available on the DDOL's website.

Sexual Harassment Awareness

Employers should also take steps to address the special vulnerability of teen workers to sexual harassment. As an item on this blog noted a few weeks ago, an ABA Journal story reported that the number of teen-aged workers filing sexual harassment charges is on the rise. Teen workers are often part-time or seasonal, and may be in the workplace for the first time. They tend to fall between the cracks when it comes to training. Many restaurants, movie theaters and retail stores have teen-age supervisors and managers as well as workers. Teens tend not to realize that the standard of conduct at work is different from what’s permissible in a social setting.

Bottom Line

To minimize their risks, employers who hire teen-agers must make a strong effort to educate them (and their supervisors) about harassment, retaliation and workplace safety in a meaningful and understandable way.

In this month's edition of the American Bar Association's pulication, the ABA Journal, is an article titled "New Troubles for Teens at Work." The article reviews recent cases that seem to indicate the courts' narrowing definition of what constitutes acceptable workplace behavior.

Restaurants, which tend to be a much more casual workplace enviornment, have been the source of a large percentage of teen harassment claims. In a recent decision by the federal appellate court for the Seventh Circuit, EEOC v. V&J Foods, employers were warned that they will not be excused from liability by the mere fact that they have a policy and reporting mechanism in place. Instead, the court warned the business community that, when it comes to teen harassment, the bar has been raised.