Central Florida Business Insurance Tips for Hiring Teens
Summer is a great time to enlist some part-time or temporary aid to help alleviate the strain on your business as markets shift and spending trends increase. While teens and young adults can make great additions to your current labor force, there are specific labor regulations every Central Florida business should be aware of in regards to the employment of personnel under the age of 18. It is important to understand that there are many age-specific regulations put in place that can affect your business. There are also many Florida state employment and labor regulations that pertain to not only your young adult laborers, but also your teen employees, whether they are temporary help or not.
Florida legislation mandates that workers of all ages receive a minimum wage of $7.93 per hour for their efforts, with very few exceptions. While the base wage for industries that rely heavily on tips as a source of income is $4.91 per hour, employers are responsible for paying any disparities between the actual received wages including tip and the mandated state minimum wage.
The state also mandates that employees must be over the age of 14 to work in any business capacity and must be 18 years old to drive a truck, automobile or any mobile machinery for work related purposes. Teens are not permitted to serve, sell or prepare alcohol nor are they permitted to work in any warehouse where goods are produced or manufactured.
Teens are only permitted to work for 8 hours a day and up to 40 hours a week, with the exception of summer employment for 16 and 17 year-olds. During the summer months, employees of this age range may work over 40 hours a week and more than 8 hours a day and should be appropriately compensated for overtime hours as any worker would be. They are however, not permitted to work more than 6 days in a week. Minors are essentially able to fill almost any employment position, however labor laws do prohibited teens from electrical work, working on or near roofs, operating power driven machinery (especially landscaping tools) and working with or handling toxic substances.
As an employer the safety and legality of your workers is always a top priority, but working with teens requires just a few extra precautions. One of the best risk management strategies includes obtaining comprehensive Central Florida Business Insurance. At Newman Crane our Orlando Commercial Insurance plans are customizable to address all your industry related risk exposures. We offer a full range of policies from Workers Compensation to Employment Practices Liability to ensure that your assets are protected. If you would like more information about any of our Central Florida Business Insurance plans give us a call today at (407) 859-3691.