Can You Hire a Child Under Age 18?
Are you considering hiring someone to help you care for the children in your care?
It could be you want to hire someone full time, part-time on a regular basis, or to help out for a few weeks or days during the summer.
But, if the person is under age 18 there are federal and state rules that restrict how much they can work for you, or whether they can work for you at all! If you hire your own children under age 18 the rules are also different.
Let's sort this out.
Federal law
Under age 14
The general rule is that it’s illegal to hire anyone to help you in your business who is under the age of 14. There are two exceptions:
You can hire someone to do babysitting for your own family because this is a personal, not a business transaction.
You can hire your own children to work for your business.
That means you can’t hire a twelve year old neighbor to help you care for children. This is true even assuming the person does not have to meet your state’s child care licensing requirements because they won’t be alone with daycare children.
What about hiring a thirteen year old to clean your home? Federal law is not completely clear on this point, but I believe that you cannot. This is because cleaning your home is related to your business.
Age 14-15
There are restrictions on how many hours a person ages 14-15 can work:
They can’t work more than three hours on a school day, or more than 8 hours a week when school is in session.
They can’t work more than eight hours a day when school is not in session, or more than forty hours a week.
There are also restrictions on how early and late they can work each day.
So, you can hire a fourteen year old to play with the children in your care. However, see the state law section below.
Age 16 and above
At this age there is no limit onto how many hours the person may work for you in your business.
Minimum wage: You must pay anyone working for you in your business at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. You can choose to pay them more. If you state has a higher state minimum wage, you must pay the higher state rate.
What if you don’t pay the person working for you?
If you do not pay the person who helps you, you can avoid the federal restrictions cited above. However, if you are giving the person gifts or tickets to concerts or other rewards for their work, this would be considered payments.
State law
State laws may have more restrictive rules than federal law which you must obey. Some states do not allow a provider’s own children to work for them who are under age 14. Some states have more restrictive rules about how many hours a child can work. Check with your state department of labor for details.
Your state child care licensing rules may also further restrict when someone under age 14 can be working for you in your home. In most states a person cannot be left alone with children unless they are age 18 or older.
Tom Copeland - www.tomcopelandblog.com
Image credit: https://depositphotos.com/213412652/stock-photo-parents-child-showing-thumbs-isolated.html
For information on how to fill out the federal tax forms when hiring employees, see my annual Family Child Care Tax Workbook and Organizer.
