There are a LOT of laws which regulate how managers hire, employ, and terminate their workers. While most restaurants and restaurant chains have policies and procedures which closely follow the laws, it is not uncommon to have a lone-wolf manager who does NOT follow the rules – sometimes because they don’t understand the laws and sometimes because enforcing them would be inconvenient.
For example, imagine a chef is getting ready for lunch service and a line cook calls out. The chef needs someone to slice turkey for the day’s special and asks one of her prep cooks – a 17 year old new hire – to help out. She may remember (vaguely) that the meat slicer shouldn’t be operated by a minor, but in the heat of the moment, with the pressure of lunch service pressing upon her… she “forgot.” Or perhaps she has a 16 year-old dishwasher working a Thursday evening shift, the dishes are piled high, and it is 11 PM. The dishwasher wants the hours and doesn’t remind the chef he isn’t supposed to work past 11 PM on a school night. In both cases, it is understandable why the rules and regulations were broken, but that doesn’t change the simple fact: the chef on duty broke the law.
In a perfect world, managers would keep up-to-date on the current rules – especially since laws and regulations vary from state to state and can change. In larger companies, there is an entire section of the business devoted to hiring, employing, and terminating employees: the Human Resources department. Managers in smaller outlets or in stand-alone restaurants must depend on online resources and professional associations to stay up to date.
There are a LOT of laws that apply to employment. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) prints a poster each year that every employer is supposed to publicly display which outlines many of these laws.
Anti-Discrimination
All employees are protected from discriminatory, unsafe, unfair, and unethical treatment. Some of these laws also protect guests and the community from discriminatory practices. Anti-Discrimination laws can impact many aspects of daily operations, including job descriptions, recruiting, screening, hiring, employee development, training, and promotions. Most company policies enforce these laws and contain zero tolerance statements for discrimination of any kind. A zero tolerance policy means that no violation is forgiven-the offender is disciplined accordingly. The discipline goes up to and includes termination. For example, a zero tolerance policy might state that if an employee is caught stealing, the consequence will be immediate termination.
Why are these types of mistakes treated with zero tolerance? The consequences for a company breaking an anti-discrimination law or in employing a minor illegally are EXPENSIVE. We’re talking thousands and thousands of dollars PER INFRACTION.
Other areas that are impacted by employment laws include the following:
- Food safety and alcohol service
- Scheduling and work assignments
- Workplace safety
- Union relations
- Wages and payroll, including how overtime is paid and when breaks should occur
- Employee benefits, such as health care and retirement savings
National Child Labor Laws
While the federal government strives to protect all workers, kids are given special consideration. Child labor laws offer powerful and significant additional protections for children and youths. To protect minors from unsafe conditions in the workplace and from work schedules that may interfere with their education or affect their well-being, federal and local governments have enacted various child labor laws.
Federal child labor laws restrict the hours young employees can work and the type of work they can do. According to the Department of Labor, 16- and 17-year-olds can work in front-of-the-house positions but are restricted in the back of the house.
In each case, STATE laws preempt FEDERAL laws. Here’s how some of these issues affect youth workers:
Hours worked:
Under the Federal FLSA Law, 14- and 15-year-olds may work outside school hours for limited periods. The federal government does NOT limit the hours of 16- and 17-year-olds. They may even work overtime, and employers must pay them overtime wages the same as they would for anyone else.
Under the state of Florida law, these rules are more stringent. Minors may not work during school hours, no more than 8 hours per shift preceding a school day, and must have a 30 minute break for every four hours worked, 15 year-olds may not work past 9PM on school nights and 16- and 17-year olds may not work past 11PM.
Operating hazardous equipment:
Florida State has adopted all Federal guidelines in regard to hazardous equipment: No one under the age of 18 can operate, feed, set up, adjust, repair, or clean any equipment declared hazardous. This includes meat slicers, meat saws, patty-forming machines, meat grinders, meat choppers, commercial mixers, and certain power-driven bakery machines.
Driving:
Federal and state law prohibits minors from holding most driving jobs. Sixteen-year-olds cannot drive on the job at all, and 17-year-olds are severely restricted in this area.
Work permits and/or age certificates:
Most states require that minors provide employers with a work permit or age certificate as a condition of employment. Depending on the state, these documents may be issued by the local school district or a government labor department.