Kids of EEs as Volunteers??

Caroliso · August 2005

I'm not inclined to approve EEs bringing in their kids to "volunteer" for a few reasons, but am interested in what others do/think. Here are two examples, respond to either or both.

A) An EE in a professional office wants to bring her 13-year old kid in to give him exposure to the working world and an office setting. He would be working with an AA in a different department than hers, probably doing things like copying, collating, etc. It would be a couple of days a week for 2-3 weeks during the remaining summer weeks, before school starts. The kid would be closely supervised, and there are no industrial operations involving dangerous equipment.

An EE in a courthouse wants to bring in his kid to run errands around the courthouse, mostly delivering needed documents and files from point A to point B. This would be a couple days a week for the summer.

This is in MA, where the child labor laws say kids have to be 14 to work for pay, and need authorization documentation from their local school board as well as a limiting of hours worked. Regs don't say anything about volunteering as far as I can tell. Following the spirit of the law (and thinking about liability and supervision concerns) tells me to take a pass on the free labor, but I think it's done all the time. In fact I remember a recent post where the poster said the owner planned to bring his son in to work, against the poster's advice.

Thoughts?

TIA,

Carol

LivindonSouth · August 2005

There are probably REASONS that child labor laws are written the way they are. I think what you have is a couple of adults who think they have a way to have free day care at the worksite. I would think differently had you said each child is expected to journal through the day and present a power-point program or flip-chart recap to management (about what they saw or learned) in the conference room at the end of it all.

Hunter1 · August 2005

My knee-jerk reaction was that it was not a good idea at all. Where do you draw the line as far as work vs child care? We do use young volunteers on occasion, though: clean up day in the park or on the riverwalk is one example I can think of. In that case, there is close, continual supervision though. Adults near-by at all times. In these cases, I don't think that would be true.

DeidreFR5 · August 2005

When I worked in a Nursing Home, we had employees who wanted their children to "volunteer" (some for the same reasons as you, some for needed community service time)- we already had a volunteer program so we tried to fit them in. It rarely worked out. They started out fine, but would get bored and migrate to the break area and junk food machines. The supervisors would tell them there was work to do, and they would go tell mommy they were being picked on, which caused friction between workers. A few parents were good and used old fashioned threats that they better not be embarrassed by them.

Whatever · August 2005

Let's take a worst case scenario. What is the consequence if the Kid B falls down in the courthouse (in front of a lot of liability lawyers) and breaks a leg? What if another ee has a 13 year old child and had wanted child to work for your company (as a volunteer, of course) during the summer and had been turned down. Would they call the state labor board and report you. I think you should pass on the free labor.

hrdir03nafcu · August 2005

I have to agree with the general sense of previous posts-- that this is a bad idea.

I think having EE's kidlets "volunteering" turns on whether MA would buy a distinction between "working" and "volunteering", the issue of wages or no wages notwithstanding. I don't think I would agree that what someone (regardless age) does as a "volunteer" does not qualify as "work".

This sounds like a very risky endeavor on several levels.

We do allow EEs to bring their own kidlet(s) in to work with them for the day to babysit them on-the-job (such as when their normal day care is not available for the day). If the parent allows their own kidlet(s) to voluntarily help the parent ONLY with a few minor tasks, and the kidlet(s) are continuously under the parent's (and not another EE's) direct control, we don't have an issue with it. But that's as close as we're willing to come to the child labor/volunteer situation. If we knew that a parent was conscripting their own kidlet's labor involuntarily, or putting their kidlet(s) to work for a co-worker-- WE WOULD NOT ALLOW IT.

ritaanz · August 2005

My thought to your questions A and B: "Are you nuts?"

marc · August 2005

With a nod to all the holes in my memory, I recall a thread on this forum or perhaps an ML Smith article in one of their many subscription letters, that indicated an ER could be liable for wages and some penalties if it allowed juveniles to "help out" around the office. Somethine about receiving any sort of benefit from this "volunteer" underage labor pool.

I have not seen anything in the DOL site about it, but perhaps some others can remember more specifics or tell me my rich fantasy life if creeping into this reality again and I am way off base.

Gillian3 · August 2005

Public sector are free to use volunteers to do work - much more free than private sector employers. That doesn't make your "opportunities" a good idea, though. I wouldn't do it, short of a formal program in which you participate. These are generally run by the ROP program in which school districts participate.

DB · August 2005

I can't believe I'm getting sucked into this but. . .

A 15-year old and her parent want the child to volunteer in the City Clerk's office doing office related work - filing, copying, etc - as a learning opportunity. No one is related to one other and, as a City, we use a lot of adult volunteers and have a separate insurance policy. We will require all federal and state paperwork (employment certificate) and follow all of the rules regarding hours allowed to work. The work will take place after her school day. The supervisor understands that this will be a learning experience for the child and will require more of her time and guidance than a paid employee.

I don't have a great feeling about this but nothing concrete to point to and say, "No, because . . ."

What other negatives am I missing?

Gillian3 · August 2005

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 08-16-05 AT 10:48AM (CST)[/font][br][br]I am not sure that you are. What you describe sounds a bit more organized than the situation in the original post. What may happen though, outside of an organized program, is that others may want their kids to "volunteer" as well, and the supervisors in succeeding situations may not be as interested in the process as the supervisor in the current one.

I guess I would be more comfortable with a program through a school or ROP where the kid gets some sort of official credit towards graduation or whatever.

crawfod · August 2005

I would pass on this idea too. Other concerns besides the other posts would be: What if other employees want their kids to come in also? Where do you draw the line? How do you choose which ones are allowed? What do you do if a volunteer does a terrible job, makes mistakes, etc.? It won't be politically easy to get rid of the boss's kid. Also, you'd be surprised how a seemingly simple "Just file these documents alphabetically" project can lead to disaster. "Oops, sorry, I'm just a kid volunteer" won't help you find a missing document or make up for the mistakes that are sure to come.

WT · August 2005

It is wonderful for young people to volunteer and get a sense of the work place. My daughter volunteered at the local Y and did so well she was named volunteer of the year for the entire state. She has done very well at the employments that she has had since being old enough to work. However, you need to pick your volunteers rather carefully. Also, with children of employees, whether they volunteer or come as summer help, they have to understand rules of the work place and first and foremost, they have to be productive. All parties must understand that bad behavior or slack work practices mean you go the first time with no second chance. Aside from this, if the parent interferes at all with the person supervising the child, the child needs to go. If mom or dad cannot face these rules then tell them they better not have the children come.
If you cannot face dealing with parents in this manner, then it is better not to start. Most people have a blind spot regarding their children so this can cause issues.

Kids of EEs as Volunteers??

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