As of July 1, Indiana employers with 5 or more youth workers under age 18 must register themselves on the Youth Employment System (YES) online platform. This new regulation replaces the previous process of obtaining youth work permits via the students’ school district. Schools will no longer be responsible for tracking and registering minor employees in Indiana, that responsibility will become the legal obligation of the employer. The new law requires Indiana employers who hire five or more minor employees (under age 18), per location, to report those employees in the new YES registry.
The new requirement will eliminate the need for work permits in Indiana for minor employees, and shift the responsibility of tracking and reporting youth employment from schools to employers. Upon termination of employment, the employer must remove the minor’s information from the YES active-employee registry.
Employers with fewer than 5 minor employees are not required to register on the YES portal, but must still adhere to all Teen Work Hour Restrictions and Prohibited and Hazardous Occupation restrictions. Penalties can be assessed for failure to use YES to register minors, failure to remove a minor from the system once employment ends or failure to correct the number of minors employed in YES. Penalties range from $100 to $400, depending on the noncompliance infraction. Additional information and training can be obtained by contacting: YouthEmployment@dol.IN.gov.
The Basics – What Employers Need to Know
Once you have reached 5 or more minor employees, you must register with Access Indiana to report minor employees. The new account will require company and location information as well as users for the system. After an account is created, the employer will register the minor employee with their demographic information such as name, age, and work location.
Employers are still required to follow all applicable Teen Work Hour Restrictions and Prohibited and Hazardous Occupation restrictions. The Teen Work restrictions can vary in work time per day and hours per week based on the minor’s age up to age 18 and/or if they have graduated or withdrawn from High School.
Essentially the only change to the current rules and regulations is the way that work permits are obtained. All other items such as safety, working hours, hazardous occupations, etc. are the same. Employers can visit the Indiana Department of Labor’s Youth Employment page for additional information on employment, restrictions, and worker safety.
Webinar Opportunity
The Indiana Department of Labor is hosting a free webinar on June 15 at 11 a.m. ET discussing the new youth-employer requirements going into effect on July 1 and the Youth Employment System (YES) for tracking and reporting. You can Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1193162946116719885.
This PayDay Authored by Jessica Wiegmann, MLD, SHRM-CP – AccuPay HR/Benefits Implementation Specialist
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