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Hiring Minors for Service Dept. Jobs Is Prohibited Unless…

May 10, 2005

As the summer approaches and the retail automotive business picks up, many dealerships commonly hire high school students as additional help.The U.S. Department of Labor has identified automotive repair as a hazardous occupation and both federal and State child labor laws prohibit the hiring of minors under the age of 18 to work in a dealership service department. The ONLY exception to this rule is the hiring of students who are working as part of a State-approved vocational training program.There must be a signed training agreement between the dealership and the school AND the school must have an ASE-certified automotive program. You can verify a school’s ASE certification by following the simple process below: ·Go to the NATEF website (http://www.natef.org/certified00.cfm) and check the box for the type of program you’re looking for (auto, auto body, trucks, or alternative fuels) ·Select “New Jersey” from the drop-down list and click “Search” ·Scroll through the list.Any school that is NOT listed on the NATEF website is NOT certified and CANNOT place minor students in the dealership’s shop. It should be noted that ALL AYES schools ARE certified and the AYES internship IS a State-approved vocational program.For additional information, please Contact Mark McAleer, NJ CAR Field Service Coordinator, at 609.883.5056, ext. 332.