In the state of California it is required by law that all minors under the age of 18 must have a permit to work. A question asked a lot is “Do I need a work permit to get a job?” The answer is “You don’t need one to get the job because you can get hired, but you can’t be paid without it,” Mr.Calder, the Work Experience teacher on site reiterated.

A work permit is given to minors to work legally under the child labor laws.  Applications for the work permits are available from the coordinator at each school during the school year, but they expire one week after the following school year begins. Through our work experience coordinator, Mr.Calder in room A129, Chavez offers a way for our students to get access to a work permit.

To obtain a work permit you need to do a few things. Make sure you secure you’re employment or have a promise of the job. In Mr.Calder’s office their is a request for you need to fill out and you must also meet the requirements there is to receive one. Those requirements consist of having and maintaining a GPA of 2.0 or above with NO F’s. It also consist requires you to have good attendance in all your classes and no behavioral or disciplinary issues. During the summer you are still given the opportunity to get a work permit for those whose are looking to with hold a summer job. Beginning the day after school gets out they are available at Child Welfare & Attendance Office. These expire one week after the following school year begins.

Chavez also offers an elective class, Work Experience, to 11th and 12th graders. All you have to do is bring in your most recent pay stub and fill out a training agreement that’s available in Mr. Calder’s office. During the class there is “weekly assignments and check-ins,” stated Mr.Calder when we asked him questions about the class. Mr.Calder explained that you also require “at least 90 hours of work per semester.” and a, “performance evaluation filled out by your employer.” There is open enrollment for the class within the first three weeks of each semester.

The following story is told from a Chavez Senior:

From my experience, the elective class Work Experience, it is an easy A if you just do the work and turn in the weekly assignments. Every week I have a meeting with Mr. Calder where I turn in my assignments and my pay-stub, if I got payed that week. Some people might think it’s a hard class, but the assignments are really easy that are about jobs and applications, and the answers are right in the reading. The thing that matters the most though is you have work 90 hours during the semester. You can turn in all the assignments and all the pay-stubs, but if you don’t work the minimum hours, you fail the class.  If you want more hours at your job and don’t mind having weekly meetings with Mr.Calder, I would highly suggest taking the Work Experience class.