Illegal Scheduling Laws in Indiana
Similar to federal labor laws, Indiana's workplace regulations allow employers the freedom to set their scheduling needs as determined by their workforce and workload each week. Because of this, there are few laws in Indiana that govern the scheduling and work hours of employees. Minors receive protection, both by limiting the number of hours and the times of day they may work, but workers who are 18 years old or older may be scheduled to work any number of hours at any time of day.
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14- and 15-Year-Olds
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Children 17 years old and younger must obtain a work permit from their school to be legally employed, and when they're employed, Indiana law curtails the hours they may work. Children who are 14 and 15 years old may only work three hours on a school day or eight hours on a nonschool day; they may not work more than 18 hours during a week when school is in session. During the summer, they may not work more than 40 hours in any week. If they work during the school year, children of this age can't work between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. Between June 1 and Labor Day, they may work until 9 p.m.
16- and 17-Year-Olds
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Employees who are 16 and 17 years old may work much more than their younger counterparts, but employers must still follow scheduling guidelines. During the school year, they may only work eight hours on a school day and a total of 30 hours a weeks. If a parent grants permission, they may work up to 40 hours when school is in session and 48 hours during the summer, although they can't be scheduled for more than six days in any workweek. A 16-year-old may not work between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., though parents may grant him permission to work until 12 a.m. A 17-year-old may not work between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., but he may receive parental permission to work until 11:30 p.m. on school nights and 1 a.m. on weekends.
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Lunch Breaks and Rest Periods
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Neither Indiana's labor law nor the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, requires employers to grant adult employees short coffee breaks or a lunch break regardless of the length of their shift. If employers grant rest periods that are shorter than 20 minutes, the FLSA requires them to compensate workers as if they were working during the break. Indiana law requires employers who hire minors to provide them with one or two rest breaks that total at least 30 minutes if a minor is scheduled for a shift lasting six hours or more.
Mandatory Overtime and Other Scheduling Issues
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Indiana labor law doesn't address mandatory overtime practices or the length of a workweek or shift. Because of this, employers may schedule workers to work as many hours in a day as they find necessary, as long as they pay overtime payment of 150 percent of normal wages for all hours beyond 40, as required by the FLSA. Workers who enter into an employment contract, either individually or through a collective bargaining agreement, may contractually limit the amount of hours an employee may be scheduled, although violations of a contract must be handled in civil, not criminal, court.
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