Labor pains: an operator pays the price for misunderstanding labor regulations. Would you fare any better?

Hiring and managing an aquatics staff can be like walking a tightrope without a net. If you take a wrong step, you lose a potential employee. But as one operator discovered, such missteps can result in much more than a lost employee.

Alexa runs an aquatics program in northern California. Last spring, a parent called the U.S. Department of Labor to clarify the ruling for obtaining a work permit for school-age children. The inquiry set off the alarms, and a short time later the city was notified it was about to become the subject of a labor audit.

A labor audit consists of going back one year into payroll and employee records. From there, the organization is fined $1,000 per infraction. The Labor Department has serious guidelines for employees who are 16 years of age and tinder that may surprise you. Sixteen-year-old guards have fewer restrictions than 15-year-old guards, but they do have some work restrictions--particularly during the school year. The Labor Department is serious about these laws, and your organization will be hit in the pocketbook if you are lax on them.

Just ask Alexa. Twenty thousand dollars later, the audit was over and she and her human resources department had to revamp many employee procedures. That included things such as color-coding time sheets according to age, to ensure that managers and staff knew the status of employee restrictions at a glance. Alexa also had to implement the use of an on-line scheduling program, which allows restrictions such as hours allowed to be worked per week to be programmed so the scheduler will not be allowed to exceed the regulations. A ...