Hiring Minors at Camp: Legal and Compliance Considerations

It's common across the camp industry to hire minors as counselors and in various other staff roles. Overnight camps often hire rising high school seniors or incoming college freshmen who are not yet 18. Day camps often employ even younger staff, including high school freshmen and sophomores.

The important thing to keep in mind is that employing minors involves certain legal requirements that do not apply when hiring adults. In addition to the employment laws that govern all staff, federal and state child labor laws apply when employing minors. Also, there are special contract law considerations that apply only to minors. Let's dive into these considerations.

Parental Consent and Disclosure

There’s a basic rule in the law that contracts with minors are not fully enforceable. A minor can usually walk away from an agreement without penalty, which means an offer letter or employment contract signed only by a minor carries little legal weight -- having the minor sign is more a symbolic gesture. To make the agreement binding, a parent or legal guardian should sign on the minor’s behalf.

It's also a good practice for parents to provide written consent to the minor's employment and work duties after receiving full disclosure about the nature of the role. Some camps have special rules for minors on staff, which include enhanced supervision, prohibitions on minors spending time off with adult staff, the "Rule of Three," and similar constraints.

While those policies are an excellent practice, they're not practical for some camps. When that's the case, the parental disclosure should include that the minor will be working alongside adults and camp will not supervise the minor differently than it supervises other staff (subject, of course, to mandated reporting laws). This means, for example, that the minor will be making their own decisions about how to spend time off, where they go during non-work hours, and who they're with; nobody from camp leadership will be there to supervise during these times.

Documenting parental understanding and consent helps align expectations and protect camp if issues later arise. Conceptually, this is similar to seeking parental consent for campers to participate in all of camp's activities.

Working Papers and State-Specific Requirements

While federal law doesn't require minors to obtain “working papers” or “work permits” to work at a camp, many states do impose these types of requirements. For example, in some states, camps must obtain working papers through the relevant school district for each minor who's on staff. Camps should check the rules in their own state about any obligations to have working papers or similar documents for minors. Failure to comply with these requirements can lead to fines, penalties, and voided employment relationships.

Hours and Scheduling Limits

Both federal and state laws impose limits on the hours that minors can work. Here's the lay of the land under federal law, which is neatly summarized in this DOL Fact Sheet:

• 16- and 17-year-olds may work unlimited hours under federal law. However, some states take a stricter approach, as noted below.

• 14- and 15-year-olds cannot work more than 8 hours on a non-school day or 40 hours in a non-school week. Also, from June 1st through Labor Day, they can't work before 7:00 am or after 9:00 pm (these hour constraints are even tighter outside the summer months).

• Children under 14 are highly limited in the work they're allowed to do and it's questionable if a camp can employ them at all.

  
  

In addition to these federal rules, many states set their own restrictions. These may include tighter limits on daily or weekly hours, and requirements for extra rest or meal breaks. States often publish straightforward fact sheets and summaries for employers, so camps should review those resources and confirm the specific rules that apply where they operate.

Certain Jobs Are Off-Limits

Just as the law imposes limitations on the hours that minors can work, it also imposes limitations on the jobs they're allowed to do. Here are some notable restrictions under federal law:

• Properly certified 15-year-olds (but not 14-year-olds) may work as lifeguards at swimming pools but not at lakes. The minimum age to lifeguard a lake under federal law is 16.

• Certain "Hazardous Occupations" are off limits to minors. The most relevant restrictions for camps include:

  • driving vehicles on public roads;

  • using power tools (including woodworking tools);

  • operating powered bakery machines and other powered food processing machines (like a stand mixer or meat slicer); and

  • doing certain maintenance work (including climbing on a roof and using ladders).

• 14- and 15-year-olds also have various restrictions on the types of kitchen work they're allowed to do.

  • Under federal law, 14- and 15-year-olds are allowed to stock shelves and engage in certain safe kitchen duties.

  • However, they're not allowed to work with open flames, use walk-in freezers, or work with most powered kitchen machinery.

State law may impose stricter limits and additional prohibitions beyond the federal rules, such as banning certain kitchen tasks altogether, setting higher minimum ages for particular jobs, or restricting minors from working in areas like maintenance. Because both federal and state rules apply, camps should identify the strictest standard in their jurisdiction and follow that as the governing rule.

Conclusion

Employing minors can enrich the camp experience, but it brings legal obligations that cannot be ignored. Camps should obtain parental consent, secure working papers where required, schedule minors in line with federal and state limits, and ensure no hazardous or other prohibited tasks are assigned.

While not feasible for every camp, it's also a good practice to implement heightened supervision procedures for minor staff to prevent them from spending unsupervised time off with adult staff, implementing the Rule of Three, and using other best practices.

By grounding policies in federal law and following state requirements where stricter, camps can benefit from having minors on staff, ensure the minors have a safe and meaningful summer, and stay legally compliant in the process.