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Child Labor

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sdouglas2270

Junior Member
I am in Alabama. I am a 17 year old mother of 2 and I need more than a minimum wage paying job. Is there anything I can do????
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Such as what?

I don't know child labor laws for your state, but if your age limits the work you can do to minimum wage jobs, then the answer to your question is no, there is nothing you can do.

Didn't you think about this BEFORE you had two kids before you were old enough to vote?
 

pattytx

Senior Member
What are you qualified to do? Do you have a high school diploma?

cbg, might this person be exempt from child labor laws because she could be considered an emanicpated minor?
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Not according to my reading of the Alabama statute regarding emancipation. Just having kids isn't enough to grant her emancipation status.

I've had a chance to look at the Alabama child labor laws since. Since she is over 16, but under 18, she can work between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. on a school night, unless she is a certified trainee in which case the 10:00 limit does not apply. She can work in most non-hazardous occupations except that she must be 21 for any job requiring her to serve alcoholic beverages and cannot work in any Federally prohibited position. She doesn't say if she's still in school or not but there does not, according to my source, appear to be any easing of the restrictions if she is not. She needs a work permit, issued by the public school officials, if she is under 18 unless she is working either in agriculture or at a Federal summer job.

More to the point is your question; what is she qualified to do?
 

sdouglas2270

Junior Member
I have a Ged...

I do have GED which is the same as a diploma. I don't need a work permit for the job i have now where i get sometimes more than 40 hours a week and i stay until almost midnight on most nights. Having children does not make me emancipated however i am considered an adult because i am married. My problem is that i cannot work much more than fast food because I am not 18 I have heard of some court paper that will let me work a plant job or something that will start out a little higher than what i am making, but I don't know what to do or how to go about getting that. and for the person who asked the question about "didn't I think about that before" no I didn't I was young and running wild I didn't care. My babies are the best thing that ever happened to me and if I could go back in time I would not think twice about doing every little thing the same.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Okay, now answer the question both Patty and I asked you.

WHAT ARE YOU QUALIFIED TO DO?

Not, what do you need a permit for or not need a permit for. Not, how late does this job let you work or how many hours you put in.

What skills do you have? What can you do that would interest an employer in hiring you?
 

sdouglas2270

Junior Member
well

There isn't much I have been at the same job since i was 14 so i don't have experience with anything else. I guess the only thing is that i do have some college. Getting someone to hire me once i have the ok to do so isn't the problem it's just getting the ok that i need help with.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
'Getting someone to hire me once i have the ok to do so isn't the problem"

That's where you're wrong, sweetie. That's very much the problem. It isn't the 90's any more, where employees could practically write their own tickets because there were so many more jobs than there were people to fill them. It's a very tight market and people with skills up the kazoo, years of experience and references to die for are taking months and in some instances a year or more to find jobs. When you don't have any skills and only minimal experience, there aren't going to be a bunch of employers lining up to hire you, sorry. 17 year olds with 2 kids aren't going to be looked at as being overly reliable, and yes, they very much can take that into consideration in deciding whether to hire you.

I have no idea what "court paper" you're talking about but a guidance counselor at the high school nearest you should be able to tell you what you want to know. But if your expectation is that as soon as you have that paper you're going to immediately fall into a well-paying job, you'd better modify that expectation.
 

sdouglas2270

Junior Member
well, sweetie, I have already been offered a job a very decent company nearby. like I said that isn't the problem. I cannot speak with the highschool counselor because i don't go to that school. I have talked to some of my professors at the colloge i go to and they don't know who, one of them is the one who told me about going to court for it. if you don't know who i could talk to in order to get some answers, thank you for your help anyway.
 

pattytx

Senior Member
"Sweetie", you are pretty snooty for 17. People here have more years of experience than you have lived. I suggest you consider what advice you've been given. Why don't you get call the state Dept. of Labor and inquire? If you were all that smart, you would have known that without asking us.

Good luck, you're gonna need it.
 
sdouglas2270 said:
thank you for the luck it must be nice living in a place where ignorance is considered experience.
You are calling them ignorant yet you came here asking a question, because you DIDN'T know the answer! First of all they told you what you should do, if thats not good enough maybe you should post another question. My advice to you, since they technically cant ask you, you dont have to volunteer that you have children. That might make your chances of getting a "better" job, later. Employers often dont want ot hire mothers due to child care, sickness, etc. issues. This is wrong, but this is life. If you have been offered a good job then why ar you here posting on how to get a better one? To follow up the other persons post my boyfriend is the manager of a FAST FOOD establishment, there is nothing wrong with that..and oh by the way, he had to have a degree. So if your in college....hats on to you..You will need it.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
First of all, we can only answer the questions based on the information you give us. Your initial post never mentioned a lot of info that could have been pertinent.

Second, yes, you can ask the counselor at the high school. You don't have to be a student there to walk into a public school and ask a question, and they WOULD know the answer. So I gave you a valid answer whether you want to admit it or not.

Have a nice life.
 

pattytx

Senior Member
I promise this is my last post on this thread. :rolleyes:

Amazing how married 17 year olds with two kids know everything there is to know, isn't it? :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 

BelizeBreeze

Senior Member
well, sweetie, I have already been offered a job a very decent company nearby. like I said that isn't the problem.
then why are you not working there?

Guess what? You're either a liar and they have NOT offered you a job, or they have told you to come back when you are 18 because simply put, this is NOT a legal issue. This is an issue between you, the prospective employer and their insurance carrier.
 

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