Ensure That Seasonal Minor Employees are Paid Compliantly as W-2’s (Not 1099’s) in Business and at Work

As a teenager and a (lifelong) New York state resident, I spent several years during the summer as both a day camp counselor and overnight camp counselor, mostly as a volunteer. One paid experience stands out:  I received a total of $150 for 6 weeks of overnight camp work under the supervision of 18 year-old counselors while caring for 10 year-old campers, and I was paid as a 1099 contractor instead of as a seasonal / temporary employee. I was 15 years old, and I don’t believe I provided working papers, either.

The above memory makes me wince a bit as an adult HR practitioner years later, as there were at least 2 compliance issues from my teenage working experience above with regard to what the New York State Department of Labor requires:

• Working Papers Required for 14 – 17 year olds in NYS – from the NYS DOL website: Working papers serve as your official employment certificate. Working papers were established to make sure businesses do not work you too many hours while you are in school and in the summer as well.
• Misclassification of Workers as Independent Contractors – also from the NYS DOL website:  When you pay workers off the books, it is fraud. It deprives workers of the protections they deserve. These practices also put law-abiding business at a competitive disadvantage, because they incur expenses for UI and Workers’ Compensation for their employees.

And NYS DOL doesn’t just wag their finger at NYS employers who don’t comply with the above 2 requirements. For both:

Violations of any provision of the Labor Law, the Industrial Code, or any rule, regulation, or lawful order of the Department of Labor is a misdemeanor and is punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both. The Labor Law also provides for the imposition of civil penalties for each violation of labor law governing the employment of minors under 18 years of age by an employer. The penalties are fines of up to $1,000 for the first violation, $2,000, for the second, and $3,000 for the third and subsequent violations. The largest penalty for injury or death is triple the maximum penalty allowed under the law for such a violation.

An employer may not penalize or discharge an employee because he or she has complained to the Labor Department that the employer has violated any provision of the Labor Law.

The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act authorizes the Secretary of Labor to assess a civil money penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation of the labor provisions regarding minors or any of its regulations. This penalty is in addition to those provisions for fines, imprisonment, or restraint by injunction.

How do you ensure that your seasonal minor employees are paid as W-2’s (Not 1099’s) and provide their valid NYS working papers, in business and at work?