What Are Minor Labor Laws Affect Teens?

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The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), is in charge of all minor labor laws. FLSA has set the minimum employment age to fourteen years old, yet most businesses require employees to be sixteen and older. The unfair law has made it difficult for young teens to find jobs. Studies have shown that teens with job experiences have learned early skills that can be used throughout their adulthood. Teenagers as young as fourteen should be able to acquire and hold paying jobs.
Most teenagers of the twenty-first century want to be up to date with all the newest technology, name brand makeup, and name brand clothes. With this happening, there are many teens, ages fourteen and up, who are looking for jobs. Teens with jobs can then save up for anything they …show more content…

Although the federal minimum wage depends on what the job is and where it is located. Several cases indicate in which teens who are economically disadvantaged get a job in order to be able to help pay certain house bills or medical bills (“Youth Employment”). In certain instances, teens can become responsible by learning how to pay a bill, either it being with a check, money order, or any sort of credit card. It is possible teens who started off with a minimum wage job can someday become successful by using money-saving tactics (“ I am 14 or …show more content…

Working thirteen to twenty hours a week can cause grades to decrease due to not having time to do homework or to study for an exam (Cowling). Due to this problem minors are only allowed to work three hours a day and only eighteen hours a week (“I am 14 or 15”). Young teens can also experience stress from the pressure of trying to do well in school and at work leading students to drop out. Although, it has been shown that summer jobs or part-time jobs have been increasing the chances of graduating (“Youth Employment”). Teens as young as fourteen can also be easily manipulated or badly influenced by a job. Older coworkers can easily teach teens bad habits even if that was not the plan. In this case, parents should always give their young teens some guidance. For example, a parent can always go visit the job site and speak to the supervisors about any safety concerns or simply to see what the working environment is like in that job