posted
Is anybody else fed up with labor laws when it comes to restrictions on minors' employment? Or even more so with the fact that every company seems to not even know the details, and assume they are different than they are?
Case in point: Circuit City I know it's a crappy place to buy audio gear, or anything else for that matter. But i need a job. Right now, i work in a pizzeria working for much less than i deserve. So i go to circuit city, and start talking to a bunch of people about different things. I'm pretty knowledgeable when it comes to computers, home audio/video, and especially car audio. So i get in a conversation with this one employee, who suggests i should apply for a job. I get done with the application (for those who know, it's not a quick process) and the guy opens to the first page and says, "Oh, you're only 16? Sorry, i can't hire you. I'm only allowed to hire people over 18 because of the labor laws and whatnot" This happened with a bunch of other places, too.
So i go home and research the labor laws. New York state limits me to working 4 hours a night on school nights! That's bogus. I maintain a near-perfect average right now, and i work about 3-4 nights a week at least 5 hours a night (my current job is lax when it comes to following rules) So i figured there was nothing i could do... It wasn't really CC's fault, they just like to follow the rules.
Case 2: Local audio shops Now it's getting close to summertime, and my working hours aren't so limited. I can work 40 hours a week. Being the car audio enthusiast i am, i go to my favorite local shop and talk to the guys there. First, let me tell you this: I walked in there the other day, looking for a continuously variable active crossover. I talked to the guy behind the counter, who i know has been working there a long time, but never really paid much attention to me. I've never really talked to him, but since my favorite guy isn't there, he'll have to do. I ask for the crossover, and he gives me that dumbfounded look that says, "I don't kno what you're talking about, but i'll refer you to the closest thing i know of." So we start talking about the audiocontrol crossovers, which you have to buy (or build) a module for in order to change the xover frequency. Basically, he can't answer any of my somewhat advanced questions.
So i went there another time looking for a job. Turned in my applicatoin, which should have been pretty decent, when i know how, and regularly do, use an oscilloscope for tuning systems, and i basically answered all of the guy's questions he asked when i turned in my application. It didn't have my age on it, so when i got a call from them possibly offering me a job, i was pretty stoked. My age came up when i told them i couldn't work full time in the summer because of high school. So he said, "Oh, you're not 18? I can't hire you. I can only hire people over 18 because New York is very limiting when it comes to using tools and being in a shop." So i went home and did some research again. The only thing that could possibly stop me from working in the shop would be that i was prohibited from using power nibblers, and handling some chemicals (unspecified, but could have included battery acid). So the shop didn't know the details of the laws, but said i couldn't work for them until i was 18.
So today i received the news that I have passed my MECP certification test. I already know i am fully qualified to hold a position at circuit city, my local shop (name withheld), or any of the other places i applied for a job at. I've got another year and 2 months until i can work at any of them, and it's not even comforting knowing that being certified would mean i make more money than a lot of the guys already working. I blame MYS and their labor laws, and any employer who is not intimately familiar with them as they are.
Yes, this was a rant, and possibly a misplaced one, but if anybody in the buffalo, NY area is looking for a 16 year old MECP certified installer, let me know. So now it should be appropriate.
-------------------- 1995 Grand Am GT Nakamichi CD-45z Pair of Audiocontrol EQT's Audiocontrol 4XS Crossfire TEK100.2 Illusion Audio ND-6 Crossfire VR142 Image Dynamics CD1E V.2
Looking for the following: Image Dynamics IDMAX 12" Crossfire BMF1000d or VR1000d Posts: 48 | From: Buffalo | Registered: Oct 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
too....much...text.....got nautious reading it...also most bigger componies like that wont hire younger people--in any state--but ya know--sum places are more jewish thatn others
posted
as far as i know its not labor law related, but general policy that cc does not hire people under the age of 18, they figure by the time of 18 your a more responsible driver and not nearly as prone to smackin up a customers car before/ during/ or after working on it.
try goin to a shop and seeing if they do some manner of apprenticeship program, i used to give the same excuse to all the kids who came in and applied for jobs, labor laws blah blah... basically i was just scared of the impression theyd make on my customer who saw a kids barelty old enough to drive working on their $50,000 car.
nothing personal, and if i ask you to look at it from a retailers standpoint, youll prolly never get the full scope of the whole thing until you actually work in the industry and are older, but trust me and understand that your time will come and your patience will eventually pay off if you want it to.
Posts: 119 | From: eastern pa | Registered: Sep 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
its a tough situation for employers in this spot. i'm not familiar with NY laws, but in PA you have to be 18 to operate ANY power tools, although this is overlooked in about 99% of situations. another thing to consider is the employers insurance carrier may not allow coverage for minors. next thing is, how long can you stay? the employer will lose you when you go back to school, and the employer may not want to hire someone they know isnt going to stay there. my advice, is hang in with your job and when you're done with school get yourself the installer job you deserve.
-------------------- Luke Fidler Posts: 1930 | From: state college, pa | Registered: Sep 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
That sucks to hear about that crap, but labor laws are labor laws. I had to wait till i turned 18 also to have a better paying job. By the way Xplisit, how did you go about getting MECP certified?
DM
-------------------- D & E designs 1sub 1amp Soon to come: 6.8" screen in the center consol Posts: 182 | From: H-Town, Tx | Registered: Dec 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
I don't know about other companies but I couldn't hire people under the age of 18 because of insurance. I could have hired them but my insurance wouldn't have covered anything if the messed it up or hurt themselves.
Really I wasn't supposed to have anyone under the age of 18 in the bay at all. I could have hired someone to do sales but thats it. No bay work whatsover. My guess is that would be the main problem. Not necessaraly the labor laws.
-------------------- Mike Roth
"Magic Mike"
"Haha guy, I feel so bad for you. It's like living your life with 1 ply toilet paper, and never knowing about 2 ply."- Bidnyk
"he who dies with the most posts, dies with the most toasters."- Bostonian Fats
"Good luck with that tight ass gap."- Navi
"Its genetics blame your dad not me."- Navi Posts: 7404 | From: Overland Park, Kansas | Registered: Aug 2002
| IP: Logged |
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Confused]](confused.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic