Can teens work by themselves at night?
Q. Can I have my 17-year-old employee close up the store by himself at night?
A. The answer is no. According to the Michigan Youth Employment Standards Act, minors must be under the supervision of someone age 18 or older at all times. The supervisor must be on the premises and should be within sight and sound of the employee.
In addition, 16- and 17-year-olds are not allowed to work past 10:30 p.m. on school nights, or past 11:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and during school vacations. They may not work more than 10 hours in one day or have more than 48 hours of work and school combined in one week.
Minors must also be given a 30-minute meal and rest period every five hours.
Failure to follow youth employment laws can have tragic consequences. In May 2001 a 16-year-old girl working at a pizza shop in Farmington Hills was robbed at gunpoint just before the business closed at 11 p.m. She was uninjured, but a 16-year-old boy from New Baltimore was not so fortunate. He was fatally shot while working at a pizzeria in the small Macomb County town late one night in the fall of 2000.
In both cases, the adult supervisor had left the establishment to make a delivery, leaving the teen worker alone.
Both restaurant owners have been charged with several misdemeanors for violating youth employment regulations. Employers can be fined up to $70,000 for breaking state and federal child labor laws.
The Michigan Retailers Association is seeking a change to the youth employment law to make calculation of teen workers' hours easier for employers. The proposed legislation (House Bill 4875) would allow minors to work a maximum of 20 hours per week while school is in session, rather than combining work and school hours to determine the maximum. Teens could work an additional four hours per week with parental permission.
For more information on the Youth Employment Standards Act, contact the Wage and Hour Division of the Michigan Department of Consumer and Industry Services at 517.322.1825.
