Working as a Minor

Miami University does not permit the hiring of anyone under the age of 16. The following sections cover guidelines and rules for employing students who are minors, aged 16-17. Departments are responsible for reading, understanding, and enforcing all sections.

Ohio Revised Code (at LAWriter), Chapter 4109 provides additional details about employing minors.

Compliance with Federal and State Laws

Both federal and state laws are severely more restrictive with respect to the hours worked and the type of duties performed by 16 and 17-year-olds (i.e., minors) versus those aged 18 and older. Labor laws are closely monitored and fines are assessed for non-compliance. Compliance with both the federal and state laws rests with departmental supervisors and any fines for non-compliance will be paid by the department.

Summer Employment

Summer break for minors is defined by Ohio law as the time period "after the last day of the school term in spring and before the first day of the school term in fall." This term does not correspond to Miami University's summer break. You must use the summer dates of the school district in which the student resides.

Work Permits

Summer

Minors employed during the summer are not required to obtain a work permit. Instead, as a condition of employment, minors must present the following information to Student Employment prior to working:

  • Proper identification for I-9 purposes. See the lists of acceptable documents from the Department of Homeland Security.
  • A Parental Consent Form signed by the minor's parent(s) or legal guardian consenting to the proposed employment. These forms are available at the Student Employment office (15 Roudebush Hall, Oxford, Ohio; 513-529-8722) and must be signed in our presence. If this is not possible, the parent may pick up the form and have it notarized and returned to Student Employment.

School Year

A work permit must be obtained by each minor and kept on file by each department before the student begins working. Students that do not attend the Talawanda school district can still obtain the work permit from Talawanda; they do not need to have their information verified or completed by their home school district.

In order to apply for this work permit, students who are minors should prepare the following documentation:

  • Application for employment (a printout of the application from PageUp is sufficient)
  • Pledge of employer form including:
    • Name and address of employing department
    • Employer tax ID number 31-6402089
    • Number of days working per week
    • Hours of work per day
    • Starting and quitting times
    • Physician certificate

Students should then bring completed documents, along with their original birth certificate, to the Talawanda School District Central Office (131 W. Chestnut St, Oxford, OH 45056). Processing of work permits takes one business day, and then students must return to the Talawanda School District Central Office to sign the work permit.

Important Reminders

  • The employing department must return the work permit to the superintendent of schools within five working days of the minor's dismissal or withdrawal from service.
  • No department should continue to employ a minor after the work permit is voided.
  • Work permits are valid as long as the student is working in the same department. If a student changes departments, a new work permit is required.
  • If the student is employed during the school year but does not work over the summer, the work permit will be invalid for the next school year. If the student is subsequently employed elsewhere, a new work permit must be obtained.

For questions about work permits, contact the Talawanda School District Central Office (513-273-3100).

Hour and Break Requirements

For their working hours, minors may not work:

  • Before 7:00 a.m., except when the youth did not work past 8:00 p.m. the previous night in which case the youth may not start before 6:00 a.m.
  • After 11 p.m. on any night preceding a day that school is in session
  • More than 22 hours per week during the academic year, and no more than 40 hours per week during summer and semester breaks (regardless of the number of jobs held)

All student employees follow the same break and lunch requirements, available under Work Hours and Breaks.

Volunteering

Departments must also follow the rules for minors who volunteer. See Volunteering for details.

Work Duty Restrictions

Below is the complete list of hazardous occupations denied to minors (ages 16 and 17) under the Department of Labor's Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). While many of these occupations will not be present at Miami, we provide the list in its entirety.

Hazardous Occupations

  • Manufacturing and storing explosives
  • Coal mining
  • Logging and sawmilling
  • Power-driven woodworking machines
  • Exposure to radioactive substances
  • Power-driven hoisting apparatus
  • Power-driven metal-forming, punching, and shearing machines
  • Mining, other than coal mining
  • Slaughtering, or meat-packing, processing, or rendering
  • Power-driven bakery machines
  • Power-driven paper-products machines
  • Manufacturing brick, tile, and kindred products
  • Power-driven circular saws, band saws, and guillotine shears, and chainsaws
  • Wrecking, demolition, and/or shipbreaking operations
  • Roofing operations
  • Excavation operations
  • Motor vehicle operation restrictions:
    • The minor employee cannot be hired primarily as a driver. All driving done must be incidental to the job and on an occasional basis.
    • Driving is restricted to daylight hours only.
    • The vehicle to be driven must not exceed 6,000 lbs. gross vehicle weight.
    • The employee must have a valid driver's license for the type of driving involved and have completed a state-approved driver education course.
    • The vehicle to be driven must be equipped with seat belts for the driver and each helper.
    • The employer must instruct the employees to use seat belts.
    • The employee shall not be employed in the towing of other vehicles.
    • The employee shall not be employed to ride outside the cab of the vehicle for any reason.