As the weather warms up and teens prepare for summer break, many employers ramp up their workforces with student workers to cover extra demand or vacation schedules of regular employees. Here are five tips on avoiding legal pitfalls when hiring summer workers:

1. Make sure to follow rules on work hours for minors. For example, in Pennsylvania, during summer break, here are some of the rules that apply to employing minors:

• Minors under 16 must have a written statement by the parent or guardian acknowledging the duties and hours of employment, and granting permission to work.
• Minors ages 14 and 15 may work a maximum of 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week. They may only be employed until 9 p.m.
• Minors ages 16 and 17 may work a maximum of 10 hours per day, 48 hours per week, and may refuse to work over 44 hours per week. They may be employed until 1 a.m.
• Minors may not work more than 6 days in a row.
• A 30 minute meal period is required on or before 5 consecutive hours of work.
• Other rules apply to minors who work in newspaper delivery, as summer camp counselors, as child actors, or as a members of a volunteer fire company.

2. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulates employment of minors in certain occupations. In addition to state law, the FLSA dictates what jobs minors may hold, for example:

• Minors who are 14 and 15 may not hold any of the following jobs, among others: manufacturing, mining, jobs involving operating, cleaning, or repairing hoisting apparatus and power-driven machinery (including lawn mowers), jobs performed in boiler or engine rooms, construction, outside window washing that involves work from scaffolds or ladders, and work for a public messenger service.
• Minors who are under 18 may not hold any job in a category of jobs considered particularly hazardous, including, among others: working with certain explosives, coal mining and other mining operations, operation of certain power-driven bakery machines, operation of certain power-driven woodworking machines, and operations of certain saws.

3. The US Department of Labor (DOL) suggests that employers obtain certificates of age in certain circumstances. Prospective employers of minors should obtain certificates of age if there is any reason to believe that the minor’s age may be below the applicable minimum for the occupation in which he or she seeks employment. The DOL’s regulations state “[s]uch certificate should always be obtained where the minor claims to be only 1 or 2 years above the applicable minimum age for the occupation in which he is to be employed. It should also be obtained for every minor claiming to be older than 2 years above the applicable minimum age if his physical appearance indicates that this may not be true.” 29 C.F.R. § 570.5(c). Obtaining these certificates can help employers avoid unintentional violations of the DOL’s regulations.

4. Make sure summer workers are properly trained when operating machinery and have adequate protective equipment. The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) advises that employers should have a workplace emergency plan in place and have medical services or first aid supplies on hand. OSHA’s Young Workers webpage (available here) tells several gruesome stores about tragedies in the workplace, like two minors who were suffocated in a grain silo, and a 20-year-old carpenter who fell from the second story of a building and fractured his skull. Making sure that employees are properly trained and supervised in potentially dangerous conditions can help prevent these catastrophic events.

5. For workers who will be working outside in the heat, make sure that employees are provided with water, rest and shade. OSHA also reports that, in 2014, over 2,600 workers suffered from heat illness, including 18 deaths from heat stroke and related conditions. OSHA recommends allowing new or returning workers to gradually increase workloads to become acclimatized to the heat and build tolerance. Training managers to recognize the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke can help alleviate heat related conditions.

Employers who make sure that their hiring of minors is in line with the law and who take common sense precautions can have a positive experience with summer workers.