Did You Hire Teens This Summer? Here’s a Quick Compliance Check (Before It’s Too Late)

admin09456
Aug 8
2 min read

Hiring adolescents for summer jobs is a great way to build your team and give young people real-world experience. But with summer wrapping up, now’s the time to make sure your payroll and legal ducks are in a row — before fall arrives and audits (or penalties) follow.

Here’s a quick checklist of things you should have done when hiring teen workers — and what to do if you missed a step.

📋 End-of-Summer Teen Hiring Compliance Checklist

1. ✅ Did You Confirm Their Legal Age?

Federal law allows work starting at age 14
Teens under 18 must avoid hazardous jobs
Some states (like Idaho) have their own rules

❗If you didn’t verify their age, fix it now by obtaining a copy of their ID or birth certificate for your records.

2. ✅ Did You Complete Required Paperwork?

Every teen hire should’ve completed:

W-4 for federal tax withholding
I-9 for employment eligibility (plus documents)
Any state tax forms, if applicable
An emergency contact or onboarding form

❗If you're missing any of these, collect and file them immediately. It's not too late — but it is necessary.

3. ✅ Did You Follow Youth Labor Laws?

For teens under 18:

14–15 year olds could work up to 40 hrs/week between 7am–9pm during summer
No hazardous work (power tools, driving, etc.)

❗If work hours or job duties didn’t align with legal restrictions, adjust scheduling records and retrain managers on what’s allowed for minors.

4. ✅ Did You Track and Pay Properly?

Did you use your standard payroll system?
Did you withhold taxes and provide pay stubs?
Did you follow the minimum wage rules? ($7.25 federally, or your state’s rate)
If they earned overtime, was it paid?

❗Did you mistakenly pay a teen off the books or as a contractor? There’s still time to clean that up. Reach out — we can help correct records, pay back taxes, and issue proper W-2s.

5. ✅ Did You Keep Required Records?

You should have a file for each teen hire that includes:

Hiring documents
Pay and hours worked
Copy of ID or age verification
Supervisor or safety training notes

❗Now’s a great time to archive these securely and create digital backups.

6. ✅ Are You Prepared for Their Exit?

As teens head back to school, don’t forget to:

Issue their final paycheck on time
Remove them from active payroll
Close out access to time clocks, systems, or apps
Conduct a short exit debrief if possible

❗Still have a few teens working part-time into the fall? Make sure schedules and school-year labor laws are being followed.

🚨 Missed Something? You're Not Alone

A lot of businesses get so busy in the summer rush, they miss a few technical details. The good news? There’s still time to fix it — and we can help.

Whether you need help: