INDIANAPOLIS — A new Indiana law has gone into effect that seeks to simplify hiring young people.
Under the new law, schools are no longer required to issue work permits. Instead, businesses that employ five or more minors will register their employees in the Indiana Department of Labor's Youth Employment System (YES).
This speeds up the hiring process, making it so employees and employers don't have to wait days for the school to issue the permit. Instead, employers can enter data on the minors they employ using an app on their phone and it only takes a few minutes.
Employers who fail to comply with the law could face hefty fines for each employee they don't put in the database.
The law went into effect on July 1. YES has been up and running since June 1 to give employers time to get comfortable with the database and, according to the Indiana Department of Labor, thousands of employers have already set up their accounts and registered tens of thousands of minor employees.
The relaxed youth work restrictions come just in time as many businesses become desperate to fill open positions. Some businesses have raised their hourly pay to draw in young workers, as the demand for employees skyrockets.
Chipotle, Walmart and Costco are all boosting wages, in some cases to $15 an hour or more.
Plus, McDonald's said it will raise pay for workers in its company-owned stores to an average of $15 an hour by 2024. Amazon said it will pay new hires $17 an hour.
The law also relaxes some previous youth employment requirements that businesses had to abide by, such as revoking the requirement to give teens under the age of 18 rest breaks. But, the Indiana Department of Labor can establish recommendations for rest breaks. It also tightens restrictions on the hours minors can work during the summer and on days that precede school days.
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