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A 15-year-old in Dothan gets hired to bag groceries on weekends. Before the first shift, the store has to do something many families do not expect: it must hold a Class I Child Labor Certificate from the state for that location, and it must keep a file on the teen with proof of age and a record of every hour worked. Alabama runs its youth work rules through the employer's paperwork, and it layers its own hour limits on top of the federal floor. This article walks through what changes at 14, at 16, and at 18 in Alabama, and where to call when something looks wrong.
The certificate belongs to the employer, not to you
Some states hand a work permit to the student. Alabama does it the other way around. Any business that employs anyone under 18 must get a Child Labor Certificate from the Alabama Department of Workforce for each location: a Class I certificate to employ 14- and 15-year-olds, and a Class II certificate to employ 16- and 17-year-olds. The certificate costs the employer $15 per business location and has to be posted where the public can see it.
What you bring is proof of age. The state accepts a copy of a birth certificate, a driver's license, or an ID card from a federal, state, or local agency that shows your name and date of birth. The employer must keep that proof on the premises with an Employee Information Form and time records that show your start time, end time, and breaks every day, for every worker 18 or younger. If a manager says there is no paperwork because you are 'just part time,' that is a sign something is missing.
Hours: Alabama matches the federal limits under 16 and adds a school-night rule for older teens
Federal law, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), sets the floor for 14- and 15-year-olds everywhere: no more than 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week, no more than 8 hours on a non-school day and 40 hours in a non-school week, and no work before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. (9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day). Alabama keeps those same numbers for workers under 16 and adds a limit of 6 working days in any week. Its evening rule reads a little differently: 9 p.m. during summer vacation, 7 p.m. the rest of the year.
At 16 the federal hour limits stop. Alabama does not stop. A 16- or 17-year-old who is enrolled in school may not work between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. on a night before a school day, and the state applies that rule up to age 19 for enrolled students. The Department of Workforce can grant an exemption for a 16- or 17-year-old when it finds that the teen's own circumstances make it the better outcome, so a junior in Mobile with a late restaurant shift should ask whether the employer holds one rather than assume.
Pay: the federal minimum is the Alabama minimum
Alabama has no state minimum wage law. That means the number to know is the federal one, $7.25 an hour, which applies to any employer covered by the FLSA, and most grocery stores, restaurants, and retail chains are covered. There is no higher Alabama rate to ask for, and no Alabama youth rate below it either; the federal rules are the whole story on pay here.
The reason a federal wage and hour law can reach a teenager's job in Alabama at all comes from a 1941 Supreme Court case, United States v. Darby. The Court held that Congress may use its power over interstate commerce to set minimum wages, maximum hours, and child labor limits for goods made for that commerce, and it overruled Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918), which had said the opposite about child labor. Darby is why the $7.25 floor and the 3-hour school-day rule exist in every state, including one with no wage law of its own.
Where to check and who to call
The Child Labor Division of the Alabama Department of Workforce enforces the certificate, record, and hours rules. Its child labor page at workforce.alabama.gov lists the current pamphlet, the required poster, and a child labor enforcement phone number (334-652-4204). The department's offices are at 50 North Ripley Street in Montgomery, and its inspectors may enter a business for a routine check without notice. A parent, a teacher, or the teen can call; you do not need a lawyer to ask whether a certificate is on file.
For pay problems, the federal Wage and Hour Division handles minimum wage complaints, and its YouthRules site explains the federal limits in plain language. Two things are worth doing before a job starts: look for the posted certificate near the time clock, and keep your own note of the hours you work each day, because the state record is only as good as what the employer writes down.
请记住
- In Alabama the employer must hold a Class I (ages 14-15) or Class II (ages 16-17) Child Labor Certificate for each location; you bring proof of age.
- Under 16: 3 hours on a school day, 18 in a school week, 8 and 40 when school is out, 6 days a week at most, and no work after 7 p.m. (9 p.m. in summer).
- Enrolled 16- to 18-year-olds may not work between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. before a school day unless the state grants an exemption.
- Alabama has no state minimum wage, so the federal $7.25 applies; the Alabama Department of Workforce (334-652-4204) takes child labor complaints.
资料来源
- Alabama Department of Workforce: Child Labor (在新标签页中打开)
- U.S. Dept. of Labor: Selected state child labor standards affecting minors under 18 in non-farm employment (在新标签页中打开)
- U.S. Dept. of Labor: State minimum wage laws (在新标签页中打开)
- Cornell Legal Information Institute: United States v. Darby (1941) (在新标签页中打开)
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