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Ohio Department of Commerce Announces Work Permit Innovation

Electronic Submission Process Created to the Benefit of Schools and Students

Ohio Department of Commerce Director Gary C. Suhadolnik announced the creation of an innovative online minor work permit registration process today.  The new system replaces
one that required paper submissions for the last 50 years.

“The Ohio Department of Commerce is using this new web-based service to make a molehill
out of a mountain,” said Director Suhadolnik.  “By eliminating replication and time spent acquiring, completing and mailing minor work permit forms, we hope to save all parties valuable resources.”

The new system, created by Commerce’s Division of Labor and Worker Safety, will eliminate
the nearly 125,000 age and schooling certificates (minor work permits) that were previously submitted in triplicate to the Department of Commerce.  Additionally, it will save students, parents, employers and school districts significant time and money by facilitating the expeditious submission of the necessary forms.

Since 1953, the process of issuing and recording minor work permits was solely done on paper under the oversight of public school district superintendents or their designees.  With the decentralization that electronic submission allows, school districts can now choose to allow principals or others to oversee the permit process at their individual schools.  The new system
also expands to non-public schools, allowing them to file work permits for their students directly
for the first time.  Previously, non-public school students were required to file through the public school district in which they resided.

While school districts will save money by eliminating mailing and form purchase costs, the state of Ohio also benefits in several ways.  First, the Department of Commerce no longer needs to check each submitted permit manually.  Moreover, when conducting a records examination of a business that employs minors, state inspectors will not have to spend time traveling between the employer and school to gather and review records.  Rather, these inspectors will have access to all minor work permit files via their laptop computers, allowing them increased ability to inspect more sites and conduct additional spot checks across the state.

Private and vocational school students will now have the ability to obtain work permits from their daily educational location rather than needing to acquire the necessary forms and gain approval from their public school districts.  Similarly, since students can download the pre-application form from Commerce’s website and begin the permit process themselves, their application can be completed and processed more quickly.

Ohio’s employers benefit from the new submission process in that they may now download and have pre-application forms on hand rather than sending potential student hires back to the school district to obtain and complete the forms.  Under the new system, employers merely need to view a permit and are no longer required to retain them for inspection purposes.  The timeframe during which an employer is required to notify a school that a student no longer works there has been extended from two days to a five-day period.

Likewise, if an employer provided an email address to the school on a pre-application form, the school will provide electronic notice to the employer if it revokes a student’s permit.

Minors wishing to work can find out more about employment related requirements by visiting www.com.state.oh.us.

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