Some businesses are hiring 14- and 15-year-olds to address staffing shortages

Businesses that have grappled with labor shortages during the covid-19 pandemic are hiring younger workers than ever before.

The businesses have lowered their minimum hiring age from 16 to 14 in an effort to meet staffing needs and keep their businesses afloat.

“I wouldn’t be open without my teen employees,” said Keith Fetterman, owner of Fox’s Pizza Den in Leechburg. “With the stimulus money and the weekly increase in unemployment (benefits), I found some older people didn’t want to work.”

The restaurant employs about 15 teenagers.

The Tribune-Review recently reported that teens have become an increasingly important part of the workforce during the pandemic. About a third of teens ages 16 to 19 were in the national workplace in May, the highest percentage since 2008, according to the Associated Press.

A growing number of workers are even younger than that.

At 14, Allegheny Township’s Addison Tursky is the youngest employee at Fox’s. She earns $9.50 an hour making pizzas and is already saving up money for her first car, which she hopes will be a black Jeep Cherokee.

Tursky, a student at Kiski Area Intermediate School, said her decision to work at a young age was an easy one.

“I say do it. Just start now. You start learning how to do things. I’ve learned time management and how to be patient,” Tursky said. “People yell at me on the phone too. It’s learning how to deal with the public.”

Tim Thompson, vice president of operations for Primary Aim, owns 76 franchised Wendy’s restaurants in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. He said he lowered the hiring age from 16 to 14 at all of the restaurants earlier this summer.

“We did it out of need,” Thompson said of the decision, citing staffing shortages.

“It’s been a blessing. We’ve hired about 500 14- and 15-year-olds,” Thompson said. “They’re high-energy, hard-working and they show up because their parents drive them.”

Thompson said many of his teen new hires at Wendy’s actually contribute to family finances.

“A lot of them were earning money to help supplement family incomes. Many of their parents had been laid off during the pandemic,” Thompson said.

“I feel like this is here to stay. It’s been a success,” Thompson added.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 14- and 15-year-olds in the workplace can only work outside of school hours and aren’t allowed to work more than three hours on a school day. The law also prohibits the teens from working more than 18 hours a week when school is in session and more than 40 hours a week when school isn’t in session.

Jack O’Brien, 15, of Fox Chapel, said he found plenty of available service-industry jobs when he started hunting for his first job. He said he chose Cornerstone Restaurant & Bar in Aspinwall because he liked the food and it was close to home.

O’Brien, a Fox Chapel Area High School sophomore, said his main work duties involve bussing tables and seating guests, but he said he’s also learning life skills such as how to better converse with adults. He said he’s been averaging about $300 a week in pay and plans to continue working into fall.

“I don’t think 14 or 15 is too young to work. Young kids should get a feel for having a real job,” O’Brien said.

West Leechburg’s Katie Monroe, 14, landed her first job at the McDonald’s restaurant in Allegheny Township.

“I don’t feel like I can do anything less because I’m 14,” said Monroe, a Leechburg Area High School freshman.

Monroe said her main job duties involve taking orders, handing food to customers and handling money at the drive-thru window. She makes $8.50 an hour and recently used some of her earnings to buy a back-to-school backpack and shoes.

“I think she’s appreciating money a little bit more. I’m proud of her. She’s earning her own money and she jumps at the chance to work,” said Katie’s mom, Michele Michael.