Do I Have a Case ?

[CommieCarlene]

So , I applied to work at the neighborhood Cato's, they said that they were in need of new workers. When I turned in my application, they said they could not hire me because I am only 16. Confused because Equal Employment Oppertunity laws protect me from not being denied a job based on AGE, race, religeon, etc. So I called my state capital Child Labor Laws office, and he said based on my situation with being in college and not high school , making the hours of labor laws not apply to me. There is no reason Cato's should not hire me, I explained this to them and they said they still could not hire me because of my age . Why ? Is this even legal ?

[citizen of industry]

What country are you in and what kind of establishment is Cato's? Were you applying for full time employment or night shifts? In that case the employer would not want to hire you because of limitations on the hours you can work due to your age. Would you be handling alcoholic beverages? There might be an age requirement, I'm not sure. If these do not apply, as you say, because of your exceptional situation, you can probably file an unfair labor practice with a local labor commission/ labor standards board or whatever it is called in your country. See if the child labor laws office or a general union can help you.

[Marquess]

So , I applied to work at the neighborhood Cato's, they said that they were in need of new workers. When I turned in my application, they said they could not hire me because I am only 16. Confused because Equal Employment Oppertunity laws protect me from not being denied a job based on AGE, race, religeon, etc. So I called my state capital Child Labor Laws office, and he said based on my situation with being in college and not high school , making the hours of labor laws not apply to me. There is no reason Cato's should not hire me, I explained this to them and they said they still could not hire me because of my age . Why ? Is this even legal ?

wwwDOTeeocDOTgov/laws/types/ageDOTcfm

"The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) only forbids age discrimination against people who are age 40 or older. It does not protect workers under the age of 40, although some states do have laws that protect younger workers from age discrimination."

According to this, I guess not. Though I think it's ridiculous since Cato's isn't exactly heavy duty work.

[Lenina Rosenweg]

In some US states people under 18 may need a "work permit" from their local high school. If this is so it should be easy to get.As Sailor Jay said find out what the child labor laws are in your state.It could be Cato's is misinformed. It could they don't want to hire you for some other reason and are giving you the run around.It could be they legally can't hire you.

[PC LOAD LETTER]

Sounds like Cato's is misinformed. I'd print out a summary of the labor laws stating what you found out regarding labor restrictions and show it to the manager.

[MegaBrah]

In some US states people under 18 may need a "work permit" from their local high school. If this is so it should be easy to get.As Sailor Jay said find out what the child labor laws are in your state.It could be Cato's is misinformed. It could they don't want to hire you for some other reason and are giving you the run around.It could be they legally can't hire you.

If she does all this they could just turn round and say we don't wanna hire you, they would take you on if they wanted so just take the rejection mate, I had hundreds of rejections before I got my first job.

Your best off getting with an agency of some sort, I did that for my first job and the hours were flexible and you have no boss at work so to speak, if you don't mind being a potwasher and cleaner haha, maybe you have higher hopes than me:lol:

[Firebrand]

If you are in the UK i'm surprised they didn't want to employ you since the minimum wage is lower for under 18's the main problem most people have is losing their jos because they turn 18 and therefore have to be paid more. I would say that your odds of getting them to change their minds are not good though. Lets be honest big chain shop vs lowly 16 year old maggot at the bottom of the job food chain, who do we think is going to win. Quit while you're ahead, if you make too much of a fuss you'll get branded a troublemaker and you'll find it even harder to get a job. Save the troublemaking for when you actually have a job and they can't fire you without an employment tribunal.