Table of Contents: Places that hire 14 and 15 year olds
What Are Reasons Kids Should Work?
Looking for a complete list of places that hire 14 and 15 year olds? Check out this list of jobs updated for 2021.
Many kids start working from a very young age of around 14 or 15. Some do it out of pressure to support their families, and some do it just to enhance their working capabilities. However, there are certainly various reasons why kids should work. The reasons go beyond just making extra money and are listed below.
- Kids should work to attain the financial education that schools do not teach. Yes, schools teach you how to add your expenditure, but only working in real life teaches how to manage your finances.
- Working from a young age also brushes up the time management skills of children. They become punctual from a young age and understand the value of deadlines that help them in the long run.
- Working from a tender age enables children to become way more responsible and matured. It also teaches them the value of money.
- It also supports kids in raising money to go to college, buy a car for themselves in the future or contribute to the household expenses. This teaches them budgeting.
- Further, it also teaches children to prospect their careers and understand what they exactly enjoy. When children realize their true potential and interests, it makes it easier for them to choose a career or side hustle that will suit them the best in the future.
- The earlier you start working, the higher your confidence is boosted. Financial independence has a significant role to play in this. However, working involves communicating with people from different backgrounds throughout the day, leading the children to become more confident versions of themselves. It makes them a better person with an enhanced personality.
- The work culture teaches kids the ability to give to those in need, save for those who could be in need, spend for those who depend on you, and budget the earnings according to your own priorities.
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Child Labor Laws
If you are under 16, different labor laws apply to you that come under the Federal government. These laws are also called the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The acts protect laborers from unfair labor practices, which employers can do.
Minimum 14 years of age is required for a child to be capable of working, until and unless they are a part of the following.
- Babysitting
- Working at a parents-owned business, if it belongs to the non-manufacturing industry
- Newspaper delivery
- Any work involving theatrical work, like acting in advertisements or movies
For the jobs mentioned above, there is no minimum age for the child to work.
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What are the 14 and 15-Year-Old Work Hours Legally Allowed?
Legally allowed number of hours for a child aged 14 to 15 years, according to the Fair Labor Standards Act, are as follows:
- Three hours per day on week/school days
- 18 hours total, in a given week when schools are functioning
- 8 hours per day on holidays/non-school days
- Maximum 40 hours a week on holiday weeks/non-school weeks
They are also legally bound with the time of their work schelduels during the day. Children can only work between 7 am and 7 pm, and in no case beyond that. Additionally, each state in the U.S. has a different labor law set up explicitly for the children belonging to the particular area. Some states also require kids to have an under-16 work permit before they can get employed.
However, if the child is home-schooled – they stand a chance of some flexibility in their work schedules. Also, employers often prefer home-schooled children. These children can change school schedules to work during the day and make the most out of the attached monetary benefits.
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How Much Do 15-year-olds get paid?
Like any other employee, even children are paid a minimum wage. The Fed states the minimum wage as $7.25 per hour currently. All states must pay an amount equal to or more than this. However, different age comes with different minimum wage.
The FLSA has set a minimum wage of $4.25 per hour for the first 90 days of work (only calendar days), if the youth is under 20 years of age. Once these 90 calendar days of work end, they must be paid the minimum wage set by the Federal government as $7.25 per hour.
Most states in the U.S. have higher minimum wage provided to their child workers, except for two states. These two states are Georgia and Wyoming, with a lower minimum age per hour fixed at $5.15.
However, this rule does not apply to employers who are subject to the FLSA rules. Washington D.C. has the highest paying minimum wage across the United States, set at $14 per hour. Following the footsteps, California, Washington and Massachusetts pay a higher minimum wage of $13 per hour.
Other states, with time, have been increasing their minimum wage for the 14- and 15-year-old employees, as well.
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All available jobs for 14 and 15-year-olds
The major businesses that are always on the lookout for hiring 14 and 15 year olds are
- Restaurants/food joints
- Grocery stores/supermarkets
- Entertainment venues like the movie theatre, distract parks, or amusement parks
Let us talk about some well-known chains/businesses in the United States that hire 14- and 15-year-old kids.
RESTAURANTS
- Burger King: Most kids land up their first job at Burger King. The open positions for the kids are clean-up crew or cashier across their 17,000+ locations.
- KFC: Kentucky Fried Chicken has 22,000+ locations worldwide, out of which 4,400+ are in the U.S. itself. KFC hires 14 and 15 year old in areas such as the customer service provider or clean-up crew.
- Chick-fil-A: Best known for the work-life balance that they offer to all their employees, Chick-fil-A hires 14 and 15 year old kids according to the locations they serve. Different areas have different rules, but the one constant thing is that all Chick-fil-A employees (kids) can earn scholarships up to $25,000.
- McDonald’s: Most McDonald’s stores let you part-time at the age of 14 or above. They hire kids to do jobs such as serving, restraint maintenance, including cleaning and cooking.
- Arby’s: Having opened in the 1960’s this fast food chain has over 3400 locations across the United States. Many Arby’s locations hire 14 and 15-year-olds for beginner positions like cashier, food prep and cleaning.
- Baskin Robbins: Baskin Robbins, the beloved ice cream store has nearly 3,000 locations in 46 of the 50 states. Baskin Robbins tends to hire workers as young as 14 years old.
- Dairy Queen: Dairy Queen wit their 4,000 locations always prefers to staff younger people. They hire as early as 14 and 15 years of age. Job duties could include cashier, drive thru, cook or cleaner.
- Culver’s: Culver’s a well know restaurant in the Midwest, has 14 and 15 year olds serving both ice cream and burgers. Similar to Dairy Queen in a sense, this restaurant offers many basic positions for younger people looking for work.
- Pizza Hut: Pizza Hut has an incredible 7,000 locations at the time of writing this and will hire 15 year olds as long as they have consent from the parents. It’s unlikely you’ll be making pizza that young but cashiering is definitely a possibility.
GROCERY STORES/SUPERMARKETS
- Kroger: Having 2,700+ grocery stores in the U.S., some of Kroger’s branches hire kids as young as 14. They have various openings as a part-time position for young workers. Tasks such as bagging the groceries, carrying bags to the cars, restocking the shelves, or rearranging them are given to the kids as part-time workers.
- Safeway: Safeway hires both 14 and 15 year old for jobs like restocking shelves, bagging groceries, and collecting the carts.
- Publix: Publix also hires teenage workers for jobs such as collecting carts, customer service desk clerk, floral designs, restocking and rearranging, and bagging groceries. They also provide their employees with tuition reimbursement opportunities.
- Stop & Shop: Stop & Shop hires kids as young as 15. They have positions such as the cashier in their grocery, bakery, and floral departments. There are undoubtedly other open positions for teenage workers as well.
- Wegmans: Wegmans minimum hiring age is 15. They have job opportunities for teenage workers, including bagging, cashier, and more.
ENTERTAINMENT VENUES
- Six Flags: Six Flags have 26 amusement and water parks in North America. They hire kids as young as 14-year-old with job positions varying from location to location and season to season.
- YMCA: YMCA is famous for having 2,600+ locations across the United States. They start hiring at the age of 15 and generally hire for positions as the camp counselor for the summer-time period or a lifeguard.
- AMC Theatres: AMC Theatres in the U.S. has 600+ theatres all across the country. They have different minimum age requirements and job positions depending on the location.
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Businesses to Start at Age 14
Does your 14 year old have a busy schedule? Prefer to work on your own? Well, here at fantastic business a 14-year-old can start to earn some money.
Babysitting
Babysitting is a job that can be done by children below or above the age of 14 and is considered one of the most excellent and safest job opportunities for children of that age.
The job roles include preparing meals for the baby, making educational material that is informative and conveying it to the one you are looking after, and taking care of the baby’s hygiene before going to bed.
Many websites, such as care.com, have several job opportunities for children looking for a babysitting job.
Pet Sitting
If you have an adoration for pets and can’t get enough of those furry friends, consider starting a pet sitting business.
Many pet owners leave for extended periods of time, whether that be for work, vacation or something else. This means someone will have to check on their pets while they’re gone.
As a pet sitter you’ll most likely have to feed and water the pets, as well as take them for walks and monitor their overall well being.
Since cats are lower maintenance you can expect to be paid less than if you were to pet sit for a dog owner. You’ll ant to get permission from your parents before starting this type of business.
Choose your rates and advertising the same way you would with babysitting.
Other areas kids can work in to earn a little more and become financially, socially, and morally responsible are:
- House cleaning
- Golf caddy
- Fixing computers and other non-harmful equipment
- Painting
- Photography
- Music teacher
- Plant sitter
- Pool cleaner
- Shampooer at salons
- Window washing
- Tutoring
Children can also start their own businesses and become their own bosses. It lets them have control over their income, get business-related knowledge, become better at client-dealing and one-to-one communication, control business’ growth and gain confidence through the ups and downs of the business.
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Final Thoughts
There are several work opportunities in different areas if you are 16 or below and willing and able to work. The only thing you and your employer should be aware of is the Federal guidelines.
Each and every job listed above fits well if you are 14- or 15-year-old and looking for a work opportunity, and there are many more in the market. These jobs give you valuable life and work skills along with hands-on experience with soft skills such as time management, communication, people management, and more.
It is always better to start early and become independent so that you are able to support yourself and your family in unexpectedly tough times.
However, what is also important is that you prioritize your education and ensure that you never miss out on school days, and focus on your studies as you would if you would not be working!