Legal Question in Employment Law in Pennsylvania
Summer Camp Employment
My daughter, 15, has been offered a summer camp counselor position. They only want to pay her $400 for the entire summer, 40 hours per week for 8 weeks. Are they exempt from the state and federal wage law? I understand they may be exempt from the state minimum, but don't they have to pay at least the federal minimum?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Summer Camp Employment
That is a very interesting question. I do litigation under the FLSA, which provides causes of action for failure to pay overtime. In general, all jobs must pay the federal minimum wage. However, there are exceptions, and the issue of summer camps has not been addressed, to my knowledge. Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is that if you make noise about it prior to her getting the job, then they can just not hire her. However, if she gets the job, we should consider having her and her co-workers seek compensation for their overtime (these cases are much stronger with numerous plaintiffs, and the settlement value is much higher). Feel free to call my office to discuss. In the meantime, I'll check the state of the law to see if camp counselors have been addressed under the FLSA (and failure to pay minimum wage claims as well). How big is the camp? Is it a corporate entity, or a mom & pop enterprise?
-Danny Cevallos, Esquire
Daniel Cevallos
Law Offices of Daniel L. Cevallos, PC
1420 Locust Street, Suite 24Q
Philadelphia, PA
19102
267.639.3105