لم تُترجم بعدُ النصوص الكاملة لهذه الصفحة، لذلك تظهر بالإنجليزية أدناه. أما الملخص والعناوين ومعلومات السلامة أعلاه فهي مترجمة.
A 15-year-old in Asheville gets offered a job bussing tables at a downtown restaurant that serves beer and wine. It sounds simple. In North Carolina it is not allowed: 14 and 15 year olds cannot work at a business that holds an ABC permit (the state license to sell alcohol for drinking on site). A 17-year-old in Greensboro can take the same job. North Carolina also asks something most states do not: every worker under 18 needs a certificate, not just the youngest ones.
The Youth Employment Certificate: required until 18
The N.C. Department of Labor (NCDOL) says that anyone under 18 who works in North Carolina must have a Youth Employment Certificate, the state's name for a work permit. Federal law does not require one. The state does.
You apply only after you have a firm job offer. The whole process is online, and three people sign electronically: you, your parent or guardian, and the employer. All three signatures must be done before your first day of work. NCDOL has announced a change so that the employer starts the application and the youth and parent get emails to sign after. Because the order of steps is changing, check the NCDOL certificate page for the current version before you begin.
The employer keeps a copy for three years after you turn 18 or leave the job.
Hours: where North Carolina goes past the federal floor
For 14 and 15 year olds, NCDOL follows the federal limits in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA, the national wage and hour law): no more than 3 hours on a school day, 8 hours on a non-school day, 18 hours in a school week, and 40 hours in a week without school. Work happens only outside school hours. The state then adds a rule federal law does not have: a 30-minute break after five hours in a row.
At 16 and 17, federal law sets no hour limits. North Carolina sets one. If you are in grade 12 or lower, you cannot work between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. when you have school the next day. The only exception is written permission from both your parent and your principal.
No one under 18 may do jobs NCDOL lists as hazardous or detrimental, such as welding, unless the youth, a parent, a public high school principal, and the employer sign NCDOL's Supervised Practice Work-Based Experience Agreement. Farm work is outside the state Wage and Hour Act entirely.
Federal law has governed child labor for a long time, but not always. In Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918) the Supreme Court said Congress could not ban goods made by children from crossing state lines. In United States v. Darby (1941) the Court overruled that decision and upheld the FLSA, which is why a national floor exists today.
Pay, and who to call
The North Carolina minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, the same as the federal rate. If you earn tips, your employer may pay as little as $2.13 an hour in cash, but only if your tips bring you up to at least $7.25. If they do not, the employer must make up the difference.
To report a problem with hours, pay, or a dangerous task, call NCDOL at 1-800-NC-LABOR (1-800-625-2267), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. You can report without giving your name, but NCDOL takes every youth employment complaint by phone, including anonymous ones. Before you call, write down your employer's name and address, your schedule, and what happened.
تذكّر هذا
- Every worker under 18 in North Carolina needs a Youth Employment Certificate, signed online by you, a parent, and the employer before day one.
- At 14 and 15: 3 hours on school days, 18 hours in a school week, a 30-minute break after five hours, and no jobs where alcohol is served on site.
- At 16 and 17, no work from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. before a school day unless a parent and your principal both agree in writing.
- The minimum wage is $7.25; complaints go to NCDOL at 1-800-625-2267 and can be anonymous.
المصادر
- N.C. Department of Labor: Work Hour Limitations for Youths (يُفتح في علامة تبويب جديدة)
- N.C. Department of Labor: Youth Employment Certificate (يُفتح في علامة تبويب جديدة)
- N.C. Department of Labor: Minimum Wage in N.C. (يُفتح في علامة تبويب جديدة)
- Legal Information Institute: United States v. Darby (1941) (يُفتح في علامة تبويب جديدة)
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